Invasion by and multiplication of pathogenic microorganisms in a bodily part or tissue, which may produce subsequent tissue injury and progress to overt disease through a variety of cellular or toxic mechanisms.
An instance of being infected.
An agent or a contaminated substance responsible for one's becoming infected.
The pathological state resulting from having been infected.
Moral contamination or corruption.
Ready communication of an emotion or attitude by contact or example.
An infectious disease.
Moral contamination or corruption.
Ready communication of an emotion or attitude by contact or example.
the pathological state resulting from the invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms
2.
(phonetics) the alteration of a speech sound under the influence of a neighboring sound
3.
(medicine) the invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms and their multiplication which can lead to tissue damage and disease
4.
an incident in which an infectious disease is transmitted
5.
the communication of an attitude or emotional state among a number of people; "a contagion of mirth"; "the infection of his enthusiasm for poetry" [syn: contagion]
6.
moral corruption or contamination; "ambitious men are led astray by an infection that is almost unavoidable"
7.
(international law) illegality that taints or contaminates a ship or cargo rendering it liable to seizure
infectionAudio Help (ĭn-fěk'shən) Pronunciation Key
The invasion of the body of a human or an animal by a pathogen such as a bacterium, fungus, or virus. Infections can be localized, as in pharyngitis, or widespread as in sepsis, and are often accompanied by fever and an increased number of white blood cells. Individuals with immunodeficiency syndromes are predisposed to certain infections. See also infectious disease, opportunistic infection.
Invasion by and multiplication of pathogenic microorganisms in a bodily part or tissue,
which may produce subsequent tissue injury and progress to overt disease through a variety of cellular or toxic mechanisms.
An instance of being infected.
An agent or a
contaminated substance responsible for one's becoming infected.
The pathological state resulting from having been infected.
Main Entry: in·fec·tion Pronunciation: in-'fek-sh&n Function: noun 1: an infective agent or material contaminated with an
infective agent 2 a: the state produced by the establishment of an infective agent in or on a suitable host b: a disease resulting from infection :INFECTIOUS DISEASE 3: an act or process of infecting <syphilis infection is chiefly
venereal>; also: the establishment of a pathogen in its host after invasion
Con*ta"gion\, n. [L. contagio: cf. F. contagion. See Contact.]1. (Med.) The transmission of a disease from one person to another, by direct or indirect contact. Note: The term has been applied by some to the action of miasmata arising from dead animal or vegetable matter, bogs, fens, etc., but in this sense it is now abandoned. --Dunglison. And will he steal out of his wholesome bed To dare the vile contagion of the night? --Shak. 2. That which serves as a medium or agency to transmit disease; a virus produced by, or exhalation proceeding from, a diseased person, and capable of reproducing the disease. 3. The act or means of communicating any influence to the mind or heart; as, the contagion of enthusiasm. "The contagion of example." --Eikon Basilike. When lust . . . Lets in defilement to the inward parts, The soul grows clotted by contagion. --Milton. 4. Venom; poison. [Obs.] "I'll touch my point with this contagion." --Shak. Syn: See Infection.
In*fec"tion\, n. [Cf. F. infection, L. infectio a dyeing.]1. The act or process of infecting. There was a strict order against coming to those pits, and that was only to prevent infection. --De Foe. 2. That which infects, or causes the communicated disease; any effluvium, miasm, or pestilential matter by which an infectious disease is caused. And that which was still worse, they that did thus break out spread the infection further by their wandering about with the distemper upon them. --De Foe. 3. The state of being infected; contamination by morbific particles; the result of infecting influence; a prevailing disease; epidemic. The danger was really very great, the infection being so very violent in London. --De Foe. 4. That which taints or corrupts morally; as, the infection of vicious principles. It was her chance to light Amidst the gross infections of those times. --Daniel. 5. (Law) Contamination by illegality, as in cases of contraband goods; implication. 6. Sympathetic communication of like qualities or emotions; influence. Through all her train the soft infection ran. --Pope. Mankind are gay or serious by infection. --Rambler. Syn: Infection, Contagion. Usage: Infection is often used in a definite and limited sense of the transmission of affections without direct contact of individuals or immediate application or introduction of the morbific agent, in contradistinction to contagion, which then implies transmission by direct contact. Quain. See Contagious.
In*fec"tion\, n. [Cf. F. infection, L. infectio a dyeing.]1. The act or process of infecting. There was a strict order against coming to those pits, and that was only to prevent infection. --De Foe. 2. That which infects, or causes the communicated disease; any effluvium, miasm, or pestilential matter by which an infectious disease is caused. And that which was still worse, they that did thus break out spread the infection further by their wandering about with the distemper upon them. --De Foe. 3. The state of being infected; contamination by morbific particles; the result of infecting influence; a prevailing disease; epidemic. The danger was really very great, the infection being so very violent in London. --De Foe. 4. That which taints or corrupts morally; as, the infection of vicious principles. It was her chance to light Amidst the gross infections of those times. --Daniel. 5. (Law) Contamination by illegality, as in cases of contraband goods; implication. 6. Sympathetic communication of like qualities or emotions; influence. Through all her train the soft infection ran. --Pope. Mankind are gay or serious by infection. --Rambler. Syn: Infection, Contagion. Usage: Infection is often used in a definite and limited sense of the transmission of affections without direct contact of individuals or immediate application or introduction of the morbific agent, in contradistinction to contagion, which then implies transmission by direct contact. Quain. See Contagious.
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