You are sick with a sore throat and fever. Your doctor does a throat swab and makes a microscope slide. Under the microscope, they find long chains of spherical cells that lack membrane bound organelles.
Do you have a viral or bacterial or fungal infection? How do you know?
a
You have a viral infection, as viruses form long cellular chains unique to your cells.
b
You have a bacterial infection, as bacteria are simple prokaryotic cells - and you are not.
c
You have a fungal infection, as fungi are simple prokaryotic cells - as are you.
d
Impossible to determine from the information supplied.
d) Impossible to determine from the information supplied.
The presence of long chains of spherical cells without membrane-bound organelles does not provide enough information to determine the specific type of infection. Further tests, such as bacterial culture or viral testing, would be needed to determine the cause of the infection.
The correct answer is d) Impossible to determine from the information supplied.
The information provided in the question only describes the microscopic appearance of the cells observed, but it is not sufficient to determine the specific type of infection. Further tests, such as viral, bacterial, or fungal cultures, would be necessary to identify the exact cause of the infection.