[in-fek-shuh
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. | Grammar. (in Celtic languages) assimilation in which a vowel is influenced by a following vowel or semivowel; umlaut. |
| re·in·fec·tion (rē'ĭn-fěk'shən) n. A second infection that follows recovery from a previous infection by the same causative agent. |
Invasion of the body or a body part by a pathogenic organism, which multiplies and produces harmful effects on the body's tissues.
infection in·fec·tion (ĭn-fěk'shən)
n.
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.
An infectious disease.
reinfection re·in·fec·tion (rē'ĭn-fěk'shən)
n.
A second infection that follows recovery from a previous infection by the same causative agent.
| infection (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. |