Herpes, genital
An infection by human herpes virus that is transmitted through intimate contact with the moist mucous linings of the genitals. This contact can involve the mouth, the vagina, or the genital skin. Following infection, the virus travels to nerve roots near the spinal cord and settles there permanently. When an infected person has a herpes outbreak, the virus travels down the nerve fibers to the site of the original infection; when it reaches the skin, redness and blisters occur. Commonly called herpes.
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- Herpes, labial
A small sore situated on the face or in the mouth that causes pain, burning, or itching before bursting and crusting over. The favorite locations are on the lips (the labia), chin or cheeks and in the nostrils. Less frequented sites are the gums or roof of the mouth (the palate). Labial herpes is also […]
- Herpesvirus
One of a family of viruses that contain DNA and that cause infections in humans (human herpesviruses) or animals. Herpesviruses are common and often live in the host’s tissue for years or even decades without causing symptoms.
- Herpetiform virus
A virus with the characteristic shape and behavior of a virus in the herpes family. Not all members of the herpes virus family have been identified. Some herpetiform viruses may eventually be called herpes viruses, while others are merely similar. See herpes virus.
- Hetero-
Prefix meaning different, as in heteromorphism (something that is different in form) and heterozygous (possessing two different forms of a particular gene). The opposite of hetero- is homo-.
- Hershey-Chase experiment
An extraordinarily important experiment in 1952 that helped to convince the world that DNA was the genetic material. Alfred Hershey (1908-1997) and his assistant Martha Chase (1923-2003) at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory showed that the DNA, not the protein, of the phage virus contains the phage genes. After a phage particle attaches to a […]