Microbiology 509 Aims and Description
	© Stephen T. Abedon
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	last updated on Friday, October 10, 1997

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full title ---

Basic and Practical Microbiology.

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instructor ---

Stephen T. Abedon, Ph.D.

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course aims ---

To provide an introduction to the science of microbiology, particularly medical microbiology, to the student with both limited background in the biological sciences and limited interest in pursuing this field further.

To those students interested in future studies of microbiology I recommend instead that they talk with their advisor and then start with the biology 113-114 sequence.

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prerequisites ---

Biology 101, 113, or equivalent; for Mansfield General nursing students it is recommended, if it is at all possible, that they attend Zoology 232 (introductory to physiology) prior to attending this course. Minimally, I recommend that students have at least a firm understanding of what a cell is prior to their attempting Microbiology 509.

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course objectives ---

goals and philosophy:

Much of the learning of medical microbiology involves memorization. My view is that much this material (characteristics of organisms and diseases, etc.) is adequately, if broadly presented in your text (as well as in class hand outs). Consequently, my goal during lectures is not simply to rehash this material, but instead to narrow your focus while simultaneously supplying you with additional resources aimed at increasing your understanding of this material.

My exams represent an attempt to not just determine whether you have committed various facts and concepts to memory, but also to determine whether you actually understand the facts and concepts that you have memorized. Ultimately, my goal in this course is to bring you to the point where you not only have a working knowledge of basic medical microbiology, but, perhaps more importantly, can actually understand the material presented in microbiology text books and other resources, much of which you no doubt ultimately will employ only on an as needed basis.

non-majors intro to microbiology:

Microbiology 509 is an introductory microbiology course with a strong medical/biomedical leaning. To a large extent environmental and industrial microbiology will be ignored. At the end of this course you should have a good idea of how microbiology might affect your work as a health professional. You should also gain an appreciation for how microbiology is performed in the laboratory. Bottom line: The goal of this course is not to turn people on to science but instead to distill and transfer a large body of information in as palatable a form as possible.

zoology 232:

It is this instructor's opinion that those planning on taking both Zoology 232 (introduction to physiology) and Microbiology 509 are better off taking Zoology 232 first. This is because Zoology 232 is a reasonably strong introduction to the core issues upon which microbiology is built (e.g., what is a cell?) whereas Microbiology 509, as presented by this instructor, serves as a comparatively weak introduction to the core issues upon which physiology is built.

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course content ---

lectures:

The following are the lectures that historically have been covered in Microbiology 509, listed in the order in which they likely will be covered:

history of microbiology, membranes, procaryote cellular anatomy, bacterial cell shape, fermentation, cellular respiration, microbial nutrition, non-nutrient factors affecting growth, microbial growth, culturing microbes, control of microbial growth, normal flora, principles of disease, epidemiology, acquisition of disease, evolution of virulence, systematics, eubacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungi, multicellular parasites, arthropod vectors, algae, archaeobacteria, bacterial mechanisms of pathogenicity, viral mechanisms of pathogenicity, nonspecific defences of the host, humoral immunity, vaccination, antimicrobial drugs, memorization of characteristics of various microbes, memorization of characteristics of various diseases with microbial etiologies (note: content covered any given term may differ).

on-line lecture notes:

http://www.mansfield.ohio-state.edu/mans/microbio/sta5000.htm

bacterial binomals:

Historically the bacterial binomials students are responsible for learning include (press here for more information):

Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus subtilis, Bdellovibrio spp., Bordetella pertussis, Borrelia burgdorferi, Chlamydia trachomatis, Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium perfringens, Clostridium tetani, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Escherichia coli, Gardnerella vaginalis, Helicobacter pylori, Haemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella spp., Lactobacillus spp., Legionella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Mycobacterium leprae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Neisseria meningitidis, Pasteurella pestis, Proteus spp., Pseudomonas spp., Rickettsia prowazekii, Rickettsia rickettsii, Salmonella spp., Serratia marcescens, Shigella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus spp., Treponema pallidum, Vibrio cholerae, Yersinia pestis.

Various characteristics associated with these bacterial species will be required memorization throughout the course.

infectious diseases:

Historically the diseases students are responsible for learning include (press here for more information):

abscess, carbuncle, chickenpox, cold sores, fever blisters, genital herpes, German measles, measles, ringworm, rubella, scabies, shingles, smallpox, toxic shock syndrome, varicella, variola, warts, zosters, abscess, carbuncle, bacterial meningitis, botulism, encephalitis, leprosy, meningitis, poliomyelitis, rabies, tetanus, black death, blood poisoning, bubonic plague, childbirth fever, epidemic typhus, gas gangrene, Lyme disease, lymphangitis, malaria, mononucleosis, plague, puerperal sepsis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, septicemia, septic shock, atypical pneumonias, common cold, diphtheria, influenza, histoplasmosis, pneumonia, strep throat, tuberculosis, typical pneumonias, dysentery, giardiasis, hepatitis B, staphylococcal food poisoning, peptic disease syndrome, genital warts, gonorrhea, nongonococcal urethritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, syphilis.

Various characteristics associated with these infectious diseases will be required memorization particularly for the final exam.

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method of presentation ---

spring:

There will be two 1.5 hour lectures and two 2 hour laboratories during the Spring.

fall:

As a Fall quarter night course there will be two 3.5 hour lecture/laboratory combinations.

This schedule will be broken up into an approximately 1.5 hour lecture, followed by a short break, followed by whatever time is necessary to complete the laboratory period.

Some days this will be significantly less than the time allotted, some days (with luck rarely) more.

study groups:

Students are encouraged to form study groups for structured, out of the classroom studying and the Conard Learning Center can provide an effective foci for the formation of such groups.

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method of evaluation ---

Students will receive up to 3 midterms exams, a laboratory exam, and a final exam. The actual number of midterms will be determined by students by majority vote.

Exams will take place during laboratory periods.

For the Fall quarter version of this course, I will strongly encourage students to elect to take exams "off schedule" so that exams do not have to compete with the lectures presented during what would otherwise be the same session. These proposed "off schedule" examinations will be offset by either the cancellation of a laboratory period or the transformation of a laboratory period into a review session.

As always review sessions are encouraged but will be scheduled out of class by students. I am up for anything short of telling students what will be on the exam, so use your imagination and don't forget to invite me.

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texts ---

lecture:

Black, J. G. (1996). Microbiology. Principles and Applications. Third edition. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.

laboratory:

Cappuccino, J. G., Sherman, N. (1996). Microbiology A Laboratory Manual. The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Redwood City, California.

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schedule ---

spring, 1997:

MW 2:50-4:20 (lecture)

TH 12:30-2:30 or 2:50-4:50 (lab)

fall, 1997:

TR 6:00-9:00 (lecture & lab)

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room ---

No entry

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Contact Dr. Abedon (abedon.1@osu.edu) with suggestions, criticisms,
comments, or anything else that might help make this a better site.