Studies the general characteristics of microorganisms. Emphasizes their relationships to individual and community health.

This is a one semester introductory college transfer-level course designed to meet the needs of allied health students, health science students, and for students interested in the relationships of microorganisms to individual and community health.

Entry Level Competencies: BIO 101 or BIO 141

If you do well in this course, you will be able to:

Lecture

• List, classify, and contrast the main categories of microorganisms
• Draw and label the parts of a bacterial cell, giving possible functions for each part
• Contrast eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells
• Draw a typical growth curve and describe its phases
• List the important events and their significance associated with microbial metabolism
• Outline the principle concept of microbial genetics and recombinant DNA technology
• List and discuss the principle reasons for and methods of controlling and/or eliminating microorganisms
• Describe microbial mechanism of pathogenicity
• Provide the following for the most common diseases in human body systems caused by microorganisms
  • Causative organism
  • Occurrence
  • Reservoir
  • Mode of transmission
  • Incubation period
  • Period of communicability
  • Method of control including specific treatment
• Outline and describe the human body's defensive mechanisms against infectious diseases
• Outline the principle of epidemiology
• Describe the principle characteristics of viruses, viroids, and prions

Laboratory

• use aseptic technique in handling microorganisms
• use standard techniques of quantitative measurement of microbial growth
• use standard techniques of microscopy and staining
• apply standard microbiological techniques to the isolation, cultivation, and identification of microorganisms

Possible Assignments Include: (Subject to change each semester. The actual assignments are available in the Syllabus in the Blackboard course site on the first day of classes.)

Your final grade may be based on the following scale. Please note that you must also pass at least four of the six lecture exams and all of the on-campus lab assignments in order to pass the course, regardless of your scores on the other assignments.

There are 7 proctored exams in this course, including a lab exam.

Last Updated: April 22, 2016