A microorganism that causes disease enters the body through a cut in the skin. What is the general term for such a disease-causing organism?
Question 1 Report
A microorganism that causes disease enters the body through a cut in the skin. What is the general term for such a disease-causing organism?
Answer Details
A pathogen is simply a disease-causing organism, such as many bacteria, viruses and some fungi. The organism entering through the cut is what causes the disease, so it is the pathogen. An antibody is a protein the body makes to bind pathogens, and a lymphocyte is a type of white blood cell that makes those antibodies, so neither is the invader. A host is the organism a pathogen lives in or on, which here is the person, not the microorganism. Keep the label on the invader: the pathogen causes the disease, everything else is part of the body's response.
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