Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
infrequently. When disease nomenclatures lag behind official
taxonomy,
errors in coding and reporting infectious diseases will ensue.
The confusion never ends. Here is a list of obfuscated terminology,
guaranteed to mislead all but the most compulsive students.
Chapter 5, The Alpha Proteobacteria
Readers should be careful not to
confuse Bartonella with the similar-sounding Bordetella (Beta Proteobacteria,
Chapter 6).
Chapter 5, The Alpha Proteobacteria
Readers should be aware that
brucellosis has been known by a great number of different names, including
Mediterranean fever. Mediterranean fever, an arcane synonym for brucellosis,
should not be confused with familial Mediterranean fever (a gene disorder
characterized by fever and abdominal pain) or with Mediterranean anemia
(a synonym for thalassemia).
Chapter 5, The Alpha Proteobacteria
Readers should be aware that
Neorickettsia, despite its name, is not a type of Rickettsia (i.e., not a member
of Class Rickettsiaceae). Neorickettsia is a member of Class Anaplasmataceae;
hence, the disease it causes is an ehrlichiosis.
Chapter 5, The Alpha Proteobacteria
Readers should not be confused
by the term “scrub typhus” for infection by Orientia tsutsugamushi (alternately
named Rickettsia tsutsutgamushi). This disease is grouped as a “spotted fever,”
not a form of typhus.
Chapter 7, Gamma Proteobacteria
The term “dysentery” (from the
Latin “dys” and Greek “dus,” meaning bad, and the Greek “enterikos” mean-
ing intestine) is often used to connote a specific disease, but dysentery is
non-specific term that can be applied to any enteric disorder associated with
severe or bloody diarrhea. Because the group of diseases known as “dysen-
tery” are the most frequent cause of childhood morbidity and mortality, it is
important to use the term correctly. In developed countries, the term “dysen-
tery” most often refers to salmonellosis, while in less developed countries,
“dysentery” usually refers to shigellosis (also called bacillary dysentery,
another misnomer) [143]. Other bacterial causes for dysentery are: Vibrio
cholerae, Escherichia coli, Clostridium difficile, Salmonella, Campylobacter
jejuni, and Yersinia enterocolitica. Viruses that cause dysentery include
Rotavirus and Norwalk virus. The term “amoebic dysentery” is usually
reserved for gastroenteritis caused by Entamoeba histolytica.
Chapter 7, Gamma Proteobacteria
Granuloma venereum, caused by
Klebsiella granulomatis, can be mistaken clinically with two other diseases
that are characterized by genital ulcers: syphilis (Treponema pallidum, Class
Spirochaetae, Chapter 9), and chancroid (Haemophilus ducreyi, Class
Gamma Proteobacteria, Chapter 7)). Adding to the confusion, the syphilitic
genital ulcer is known as a chancre and must be distinguished from chan-
croid. One last caveat. Granuloma venereum, caused by Klebsiella granulo-
matis, must not be confused with lymphogranuloma venereum, caused by
Chlamydia trachomatis (Class Chlamydiae, Chapter 13).
