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 30 . 06 . 2017  Microbiology notes !!!  Yesterday I took my physics final exam and it went great: I got a 27/30, which is way more than what I expected as Physics is one of my worst subjects.  My next exam, microbiology, is in four days and I’m starting to feel a bit anxious about it as it’s a pretty tough exam but I’ll try to do my best ! 

It’s Medical Mnemonics Monday!

Renal Papillary Necrosis is a form of nephropathy characterized by coagulative necrosis of the renal medullary pyramids and papillae.  

Causes of Papillary Necrosis can be remembered by the mnemonic “POSTCARDS”.

P yelonephritis

O bstruction of the urogenital tract

S ickle cell disease

T uberculosis

Chronic liver disease,

A nalgesia /A lcohol abuse,

R enal transplant rejection

D iabetes mellitus

S ystemic vasculitis

Check out the list of the previous Medical Mnemonics here.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae

PMN filled with Neisseria gonorrhoeae => Gram- diplococci, glucose fermenter, non maltose fermenter, oxidase positive.

Very inflammatory response: exudate with high number of PMN. TX with ceftriaxone and always ALWAYS test for Chlamydia trachomatis (since is more common and exudate is similar)

How to tell them apart? 

N. gonorrhoeae’s exudate is more purulent than C. trachomatis.

N. gonorrhoeae’s exudate is “greenish-yellowish” but C. trachomatis’s is whiter.

N. gonorrhoeae is always inside a PMN while C. trachomatis is not 

Grows in Thayer-Martin medium (chocolote agar + antibiotics, is a selective medium)

Medically Important Bacteria: Clasification

18/1/18 - Recent virology notes! Ignore the headings, I bought some new brush pens and I’m still getting used to them..

[17 Dec 2017] (i thought i’d posted but it’s not appearing? ):) so sorry for the lack of original posts all these months! school has been so tough & i’ve just completed my mid-sem assessments & it’s finally my break! can’t wait to unwind and catch up on my sleep ;-;

20.1.18 // studygram: alimastudies

i don’t normally upload pictures of my homework because i don’t tend to spend a lot of effort or time on them as i know i won’t be using it again, but for this biology homework i thought i would do it nicely and use it for my future notes! i need to work on my handlettering oh dear god ahhh i used a crayola supertip for it

Antimicrobial Agents  - Cell wall inhibitors

Based on mode of action • divided into families based on chemical structure

 Modes of action Interference with: 

cell wall synthesis 

protein synthesis 

nucleic acid synthesis 

plasma membrane integrity 

metabolic pathway 

Inhibitors of Bacterial Cell Wall (peptidoglycan) Synthesis 

The Beta-lactam Family 

The Glycopeptides 

Peptidoglycan is composed of N-acetylglucosamine (NAG) and N-acetylmuramic acid (NAM) repeat units, and amino acids.  Each NAM is linked to peptide chain and the peptide chains are cross-linked.

β-lactams 

Includes penicillin derivatives (penams), cephalosporins (cephems), monobactams, and carbapenems.

class of broad-spectrum antibiotics containing a β-lactam ring

Bacterial transpeptidase enzymes are responsible for catalysing cross-linking of the peptide chains

β-lactam ring bind to these transpeptidases – this inhibits cross-linking between peptide chains and prevents synthesis of stable PG

Cell wall synthesis ceases and the bacterial cells eventually die due to osmotic instability or autolysis. 

Glycopeptides 

Polypeptide agents - basic structural elements amino acids 

Vancomycin: 

complexes with peptide portion of peptidoglycan’s precursor units 

vancomycin is a large hydrophilic molecule able to form hydrogen bonds with the terminal D-alanyl-D-alanine moieties of the NAM/NAG-peptides

preventing PG transglycosylation reaction – PG precursor subunits (NAG-NAM+peptide) cannot be inserted into peptidoglycan matrix;

Vancomycin also alters bacterial-cell-membrane permeability and RNA synthesis

Uses:  serious Gram positive infections e.g. MRSA wound infection

Adverse effects:

damage to auditory nerve 

hearing loss (ototoxicity) 

“Red man/neck” syndrome - rash on face, neck, upper torso 

Clostridium tetani

Gram+, anaerobe, spore forming, motile, rod.

Neurotoxin: Tetanus Toxin blocks glycine and GABA and produces a SPASTIC PARALYSIS.

TETANUS

Opisthotonus

Risus  Sardonicus

Severe mucle spasm