Transmission

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Transmission (medicine)

Transmission (pronounced: trans-mish-un) in the context of medicine, refers to the mechanism by which infectious agents or diseases spread from one individual or source to another.

Etymology

The term 'transmission' originates from the Latin word 'transmissio', which means 'to send across'.

Types of Transmission

There are several types of transmission in medicine, including:

  • Direct Transmission: This occurs when the infectious agent is transferred directly from an infected individual to a susceptible one. This can happen through physical contact, droplet spread, or vertical transmission (from mother to child during pregnancy or childbirth).
  • Indirect Transmission: This involves the transfer of an infectious agent from a reservoir to a susceptible host via an intermediary object or organism, also known as a vector. This can include airborne transmission, vehicleborne transmission, or vectorborne transmission.
  • Fecal-Oral Transmission: This type of transmission occurs when pathogens in fecal particles pass from one host to the mouth of another host. This is a major route of transmission for many infectious diseases.

Related Terms

  • Infectious Disease: A disease caused by the entrance into the body of organisms (as bacteria, protozoans, fungi, or viruses) which grow and multiply there.
  • Pathogen: A specific causative agent (such as a bacterium or virus) of disease.
  • Vector: An organism (such as a mosquito or tick) that transmits a pathogen from one organism to another.
  • Reservoir: Any person, animal, arthropod, plant, soil or substance (or combination of these) in which an infectious agent normally lives and multiplies.

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