infection

infection
/in fek"sheuhn/, n.
1. an act or fact of infecting; state of being infected.
2. an infecting with germs of disease, as through the medium of infected insects, air, water, or clothing.
3. an infecting agency or influence.
4. an infectious disease: Is this infection very dangerous?
5. the condition of suffering an infection.
6. corruption of another's opinions, beliefs, moral principles, etc.; moral contamination.
7. an influence or impulse passing from one to another and affecting feeling or action.
8. Gram. (in Celtic languages) assimilation in which a vowel is influenced by a following vowel or semivowel; umlaut.
[1350-1400; ME infeccio(u)n < LL infection- (s. of infectio). See INFECT, -ION]

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Invasion of the body by various agents
including bacteria, fungi (see fungus), protozoans, viruses, and worms
and its reaction to them or their toxins.

Infections are called subclinical until they perceptibly affect health, when they become infectious diseases. Infection can be local (e.g., an abscess), confined to one body system (e.g., pneumonia in the lungs), or generalized (e.g., septicemia). Infectious agents can enter the body by inhalation, ingestion, sexual transmission, passage to a fetus during pregnancy or birth, wound contamination, or animal or insect bites. The body responds with an attack on the invader by leukocytes, production of antibodies or antitoxins, and often a rise in temperature. The antibodies may result in short-term or lifelong immunity. Despite significant progress in preventing and treating infectious diseases, they remain a major cause of illness and death, particularly in regions of poor sanitation, poor nutrition, and crowding.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • INFECTION — Les maladies infectieuses, dites également maladies transmissibles, diffèrent des autres affections en ce que leur naissance requiert absolument la pénétration dans l’organisme hôte d’un agent infectant vivant. La spécificité de celui ci apparaît …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Infection — In*fec tion, n. [Cf. F. infection, L. infectio a dyeing.] [1913 Webster] 1. The act or process of infecting. [1913 Webster] There was a strict order against coming to those pits, and that was only to prevent infection. De Foe. [1913 Webster] 2.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • infection — Infection. sub. f. Grande puanteur. Cet esgoust là est la plus grande infection. il en sort une si estrange infection. infection insupportable. Il signifie aussi, Corruption contagieuse. L Infection des corps morts mit la peste dans cette ville …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • infection — [in fek′shən] n. [ME infeccioun < OFr infection < LL infectio] 1. an infecting; specif., a) the act of causing to become diseased b) the act of affecting with one s feelings or beliefs 2. the fact or state of being infected, esp. by the… …   English World dictionary

  • Infection — (v. lat.), Ansteckung …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Infection — Infection, lat. deutsch, in der Medicin die Erkrankung durch ein Miasma, vergl. Ansteckung …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • infection — index contaminate, disease Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • infection — late 14c., infectious disease; contaminated condition; from O.Fr. infeccion contamination, poisoning (13c.) and dir. from L.L. infectionem (nom. infectio), noun of action from pp. stem of L. inficere (see INFECT (Cf. infect)). Meaning… …   Etymology dictionary

  • infection — [n] contamination bug*, communicability, contagion, contagiousness, corruption, defilement, disease, epidemic, flu, germs, impurity, insanitation, poison, pollution, septicity, virus, what’s going around*; concepts 230,306 Ant. sanitation,… …   New thesaurus

  • infection — ► NOUN 1) the process of infecting or the state of being infected. 2) an infectious disease …   English terms dictionary

  • infection — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ nasty, serious, severe ▪ mild, minor, moderate ▪ acute, chronic ▪ …   Collocations dictionary

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