#phage

• Achalasia — A rare primary motor disorder of the esophagus, characterized by the absence of normal peristalsis in the esophageal body and the defective or incomplete relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter during swallowing. This neurodegenerative condition leads to food accumulation in the esophagus, causing its progressive dilation, clinically manifesting as dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), regurgitation, retrosternal pain, and weight loss.
• Actinophage — A bacterial virus (bacteriophage) structurally specialized in infecting and destroying bacteria of the order Actinomycetales (actinomycetes). These viruses play an essential ecological and industrial role, being utilized in genetic research or bacterial infection control, but can also pose a structural threat in the biotechnology industry if they jeopardize bacterial cultures used for antibiotic production.
• Anthophagous — Feeding exclusively or primarily on flowers or their component parts (petals, pollen, nectar). The term is used in ecology and entomology to describe the nutritional profile of certain insect, bird, or small mammal species that play an essential structural role in pollination processes and in maintaining balance within plant ecosystems.
• Bacteriophage — A virus that infects and destroys exclusively bacterial cells, utilizing their genetic mechanisms to replicate. In a medical and biochemical context, bacteriophages (or phages) represent an extremely specific and ecological alternative to antibiotics, used in phage therapy to combat drug-resistant superbugs.
• Bacteriophagy — A biological phenomenon consisting of the destruction, lysis, or phagocytosis of bacteria by specific viruses (bacteriophages) or by cells endowed with macrophage capacities. In a narrow sense, the process describes the dynamics of the lytic cycle in which entire bacterial populations are rapidly reduced under viral infection, playing a crucial role in the ecological regulation of microbial biomass.
• Bacteriophage therapy — A therapeutic method consisting of the controlled medical use of bacteriophages to combat and eradicate pathogenic bacterial infections within the organism. Also termed phage therapy, it represents a high-precision approach, as phages exclusively attack the target bacterial strain, sparing the beneficial microbiome and offering a viable solution against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
• Bacteriopexiatic — Serving to fix or retain bacteria; relating to the capacity of certain cells or tissues to capture and immobilize prokaryotic microorganisms in order to neutralize them. Physiologically, bacteriopexiatic properties are specific to macrophages and cells of the reticuloendothelial system (such as Kupffer cells in the liver), representing a first defensive barrier prior to the enzymatic destruction of the pathogen.
• Bacteriopexy — A biological phenomenon consisting of the fixation, capture, or retention of bacteria by certain cells (especially macrophages and histiocytes) or organs with phagocytic roles, without them necessarily being destroyed immediately. In an immune sense, bacteriopexy represents an essential clearing stage of blood and lymphatic flows, whereby the body temporarily isolates infectious foci and prevents systemic dissemination of microbes.
• Bacteriotropin — A specific antibody substance (or modified opsonin) present in immune serum, capable of binding to the surface of bacteria to modify their cell wall, making them far more susceptible to phagocytosis by leukocytes. Biochemically, bacteriotropins act as marking and activating elements of the cellular defense system, enhancing the capacity of macrophages to recognize and destroy pathogens.