DICTIONARY
Please refer to www.medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com
for further clarification of vocabulary
Abortion
-- premature expulsion from the uterus of the products of conception,
termination of pregnancy before the fetus is viable
Antibody
-- a
protein molecule that recognizes and binds to a foreign substance
introduced into the organism
Antigenemia
-- The presence of antigen in the blood
Azotemia -- The presence of nitrogen containing compounds in the
blood.
Bilirubinuria -- The presence of bilirubin in the urine
Budding
-- viruses
that acquire their envelope by bulging through regions of host cell
membrane
Capsid
-- the
protein coat or shell that surrounds a virion’s nucleic acid
Cell-mediated
immunity -- Immunity dependent on T lymphocytes which are sensitized by
first exposure to a specific antigen. Subsequent exposure
stimulates the release of a group of substances known as lymphokines,
such as interferon, and interleukins as well as direct killing by
cytotooxic T lymphocytes.
Chemotherapeutic agent -- A cancer fighting drug
Clear
-- the process of the immune system completely removing the virus from
the infected organism
Cytopathic --
pathological
changes in the cell, usually resulting in cell death
De novo -- A method of producing something from non-recycled products
ELISA -- A
type of primary binding test used to detect and measure
either antigen or antibody. Either an antigen or antibody is
bound to a solid substrate and a second antibody to which enzyme is
conjugated is added, followed by a substrate for the enzyme.
Envelope -- the
outer membranous later that surrounds the nucleocapsid in some viruses
Erythrodysplasia -- Abnormal morphology of erythrocytes
Fomite -- inanimate object or material on which disease-producing
agents may be conveyed
Genetically engineered -- A vaccine
Genome -- the
total amount of genetic information in a cell or virus
Glomerulonephritis
-- Inflammation of the glomeruli in the
kidneys. A form of nephritis.
Granulocytes --
any leukocyte containing granules, eg. eosinophil, neutrophil, basophil
Hematinic agent -- a
medicine, as a compound of iron, that tends to increase the amount of
hematin or hemoglobin in the blood
Hematopoiesis -- the formation and development of blood cells, taking
place in the bone marrow
Hyperbilirubinemia -- The presence of excess bilirubin in the blood
that can lead to jaundice
IFA -- A technique for conjugating antibodies with fluorescent dyes in
order to identify specific microorganisms or tissue constituents using
a fluorescence microscope. Used for identifying specific bacteria
and viruses.
Immunosuppression -- diminished immune responsiveness, may occur
following certain infections, notably viral infections such as
retroviruses or herpesviruses, exposure to x-irradiation or toxic
chemicals or certain drugs
Infectivity
-- the ability of an agent to infect
In vitro -- Outside of the body/in tissue culture cells
Killed whole virus -- An inactivated vaccine. A vaccine with
organisms that have been killed
Latent Infection -- when the provirus in within the DNA of host cells,
but no virus is produced because it is dormant. Latent infections
may become reactivated.
Lymphocytes -- a mononuclear, non-granular leukocyte involved
with immunity. They can be T-cells or B-cells
Lymphopenia -- A decrease in the number of lymphocytes in the blood
Macrocytosis -- The presence of macrocytes (abnormally large
erythrocytes) in the blood
Macrophage -- any large, mononuclear, highly phagocytic cell derived
from bone marrow, the progeny of which (monocytes) enter the blood
stream and enter tissues where they develop into macrophages.
They are an important class of antigen presenting cells.
Monocytes -- a mononuclear, phagocytic leukocyte
Neutralize -- a noxious agent that has been rendered incapacitated and
cannot cause damage to the organism
Neutropenia -- a decrease in the normal number of neutrophils in
the blood
Non-regenerative anemia -- anemia in which the bone marrow does not try
to proliferate to increase the number of erythrocytes
Oncogenesis -- the production or causation of tumors, characteristic of
FeLV, involving on, promotion, and mutation
Peritonitis -- inflammation of the serous membrane lining the wall of
the abdominal and pelvic cavities and investing the contained
viscera
Pathognomonic -- a lesion or clinical sign that is specific for one
particular disease
Persistent
viremia -- virus that is isolated to the blood for long periods of time
Polydipsia -- usually a compensatory increase in volume of water
consumption, due to polyuria
Polymerase
-- either
DNA or RNA associated enzyme responsible for replication of nucleic acid
Polyuria --
an increase in volume of urine excreted
Proteinuria -- An excess of serum proteins in the urine; an important
indicator of renal disease.
Provirus -- a
virus capable of producing proviral DNA, which is integrated into host
cell
DNA. In retroviruses, it is a
double-stranded copy of the RNA genome.
Regressor
cat -- A
cat whose clinical signs or disease process has subsided
Resistance -- the natural ability of a normal organism to remain
unaffected by noxious agents in its environment, immunity
Resorption -- the lysis and assimilation of a fetus within the uterus
Reticulocytosis -- An excess of reticulocytes in the peripheral blood
Retrovirus
-- a group of viruses with RNA genomes that carry the enzyme reverse
transcriptase and form a DNA copy of their genome during their
reproductive cycle
Reverse Transcriptase -- an RNA-dependant DNA polymerase that uses a
viral TNA genome as a template to form a DNA copy; this is a reverse of
the normal flow of genetic information, which preceeds from DNA to RNA
RNA -- ribonucleic
acid, a usually single-stranded polymeric molecule consisting of
ribonucleotide
building blocks. Chemically very similar
to DNA. Consists of 3 types, all of
which have an essential role in protein synthesis.
The genetic material of some viruses.
Shedding
-- an infectious cat that is producing active virus, and releasing it
into the environment via secretions or exhalation. A contagious
cat.
Stomatitis
-- any lesion in the oral cavity resulting in inflammation
Subunit
-- A vaccine containing only specific antigenic proteins of the
infectious agent
Susceptible
-- lacking immunity or resistance
Systemic
-- affecting the entire body of the animal, via hematogenous spread
Thrombocytopenia -- a decrease in the number of cirulating platelets
which can lead to bleeding tendancies
Thymic atrophy -- a decrease in the normal size of the thymus
Transcription
-- RNA
synthesis, the transfer of information from a double-stranded DNA
molecule to a
single-stranded RNA molecule
Transient
viremia--virus that is removed from the animal's system within 3-6
weeks, and then becomes immune to re-infection
Translation
-- protein
synthesis, the conversion in the cellular cytoplasm of the mRNA base
sequence
information into an amino acid sequence of a polypeptide
Viremia
-- the
presence of virus in the blood either as a free virus or as a
cell-associated
viremia. In generalized viral
infections, there may be local invasion, proliferation in regional
lymph nodes,
followed by primary viremia with dissemination to other tissues. There may be a secondary viremia followed by
increasing tissue damage and severe clinical disease.
Viremic
-- the state of viremia
Virulence
-- the
degree or intensity of pathogenicity of an organism as indicated by
case
fatality rates and/or ability to invade host tissues and cause disease
