Week 13: Reflection

I am so THRILLED that this class is almost over and that I'm graduating. I'm glad I picked microbiology as one of my last classes in college. The information that I learned from class will help me in my future career and in maintaining proper person hygiene. The labs that we did recently really helped me gain clinical experience of what a microbiologist would do. 

The labs showed me how diseases and conditions are tested for. Recently, I developed a sore throat from hay fever yet it persisted for another week. This had me thinking if my sore throat was really from allergic reactions. If I had the equipment and materials, I would know how to test what was causing my sore throat. I would swab the back of my throat and swab it on an agar plate and incubate it. Next, I would take a sample of the growth and conduct a gram-staining test and further testing after that. Microbiology taught me this and I am glad that I could learn these techniques and facts so that I can apply them to life. 

Week 12: Definitions

Hypersensitivity: Any immune response against a foreign antigen that is exaggerated beyond the norm. 

There are four types of hypersensitivity and it's associated diseases or conditions:

• Type I Hypersensitivity
• Allergies: An immediate hypersensitivity response against an antigen. 

• Type II Hypersensitivity
• Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura: Disease resulting when drugs bound to platelets bind antibodies and complement, causing the platelets to lyse. 

• Type III Hypersensitivity
• Glomerulonephritis: Deposition of immune complexes in the walls of the glomeruli--networks of minute blood vessels in the kidneys--that may result in kidney failure; typically caused by infection with group A Streptococcus. 

• Type IV Hypersensitivity
• Allergic Contact Dermatitis: Type of delayed hypersensitivity reaction in which chemically modified skin proteins trigger a cell-mediated immune response. 

*allergic contact dermatitis 

Week 11: Investigation

In our last class, we discussed two processes of cell destruction: apoptosis and necrosis.

Apoptosis is the body's normal process of cell destruction. Necrosis on the other hand is abnormal and is caused by genetic defects or mechanical injury. Unlike apoptosis, the necrotic process involves cell swelling and damaging cell organelles. Eventually, the cell erupts, spilling out the cell contents into the blood stream. This causes inflammation and other types of immunological affects that could lead to diseases and conditions. Apoptosis slowly shrinks the cell and its remnants undergo phagocytosis.

Week 10: Observation

I'm pretty sure I've used my piercings in my previous blogs, but they are actually pertinent to what I'm studying in my microbiology class. Recently, somebody gave me a tight hug which exerted pressure on my cartilage piercing. About three to four days after that, my piercing has been bothersome.

A couple of things occurred to my ear:

• redness
• warmth
• swelling
• pain
• itching
• bleeding
• discharge of yellow-white pus

After thinking about all of these bothersome things that happened after someone bumped into my piercing, I realized that this all consists of inflammatory responses. Inflammation is a component of the innate immune system which we are all born with. Whenever there is an infection, wound, or cut, inflammation is the body's normal response to killing whatever foreign pathogens came in contact with the location as well as to help repair whatever tissue was lost from the injury.