Systemic infection is a generic term for
infectionAn infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. In an infection, the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host's resources to multiply, usually at the expense of the host. The infecting organism, or pathogen, interferes with the normal functioning of the...
caused by
microorganismA microorganism or microbe is an organism that is microscopic...
s in animals or plants, where the causal agent (the microbe) has spread actively or passively in the host's anatomy and is disseminated throughout several organs in different systems of the host. In the case of animals, throughout organs in the digestive,
respiratoryThe respiratory systems function is to allow gas exchange to all parts of the body. The space between the alveoli & the capillaries, the anatomy or structure of the exchange system, and the precise physiological uses of the exchanged gases vary depending on the organism...
, and other systems, especially the
circulatory system- [Headline text]--75.137.171.242 01:21, 21 October 2009 :bThe circulatory system is an organ system that passes nutrients , gases, hormones, blood cells, nitrogen waste products, etc. to and from cells in the body to help fight diseases and help stabilize body temperature and pHb to maintain...
; in plants, throughout the
xylemIn vascular plants, xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue, phloem being the other. The word "xylem" is derived from classical Greek ξυλον , "wood", and indeed the best-known xylem tissue is wood, though it is found throughout the plant...
and/or
phloemIn vascular plants, phloem is the living tissue that carries organic nutrients , particularly sucrose, a sugar, to all parts of the plant where needed. In trees, the phloem is the innermost layer of the bark, hence the name, derived from the Greek word "bark"...
vessels, and into organs like leaves, stems, roots,
tuberTubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to overwinter and regrow the next year and as a means of asexual reproduction. Two different groups of tubers are: stem tubers, and root tubers.- Stem tubers :A stem tuber forms from...
s, fruits, etc.
Systemic infection is a generic term for
infectionAn infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. In an infection, the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host's resources to multiply, usually at the expense of the host. The infecting organism, or pathogen, interferes with the normal functioning of the...
caused by
microorganismA microorganism or microbe is an organism that is microscopic...
s in animals or plants, where the causal agent (the microbe) has spread actively or passively in the host's anatomy and is disseminated throughout several organs in different systems of the host. In the case of animals, throughout organs in the digestive,
respiratoryThe respiratory systems function is to allow gas exchange to all parts of the body. The space between the alveoli & the capillaries, the anatomy or structure of the exchange system, and the precise physiological uses of the exchanged gases vary depending on the organism...
, and other systems, especially the
circulatory system- [Headline text]--75.137.171.242 01:21, 21 October 2009 :bThe circulatory system is an organ system that passes nutrients , gases, hormones, blood cells, nitrogen waste products, etc. to and from cells in the body to help fight diseases and help stabilize body temperature and pHb to maintain...
; in plants, throughout the
xylemIn vascular plants, xylem is one of the two types of transport tissue, phloem being the other. The word "xylem" is derived from classical Greek ξυλον , "wood", and indeed the best-known xylem tissue is wood, though it is found throughout the plant...
and/or
phloemIn vascular plants, phloem is the living tissue that carries organic nutrients , particularly sucrose, a sugar, to all parts of the plant where needed. In trees, the phloem is the innermost layer of the bark, hence the name, derived from the Greek word "bark"...
vessels, and into organs like leaves, stems, roots,
tuberTubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to overwinter and regrow the next year and as a means of asexual reproduction. Two different groups of tubers are: stem tubers, and root tubers.- Stem tubers :A stem tuber forms from...
s, fruits, etc.
Systemic infections are also called disseminated infections, and they can be caused by
bacteriaThe bacteria are a large group of unicellular microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria have a wide range of shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals...
and bacteria-like prokaryotes, fungi,
protozoaProtozoa or Cornelius protozoans Protozoa or Cornelius protozoans Protozoa or Cornelius protozoans (from Greek πρῶτον proton "first" and ζῷα zoa "animals"; singular protozoon; (the word "protozoan" is originally an adjective, used as a noun) are microorganisms classified as unicellular eukaryotes....
in the broad sense, and viruses.