Mononucleosis is a disease caused by the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which is a member of the herpes family. The herpes family also includes viruses that cause cold sores, chicken pox, genital herpes, and birth defects (7). Mono, short for mononucleosis (3) “gets its name from the fact that it causes a person’s white blood cells to become distorted, so that they have only one nucleus (becoming mononuclear) instead of the usual divided nucleus.” (3) The first accounts …showed first 75 words of 1156 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1156 total…Infection and Infectious Mononucleosis.” Infectious Diseases, 2nd ed. Ed. John G. Barlett, MD, Neil R. Blacklow, MD, and Sherwood L. Gorback, MD. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 1998. 1646-1650. 6. Schooley, Robert T. “Epstein-Barr Virus (Infectious Mononucleosis).” Ed. John E. Bennett, MD, Raphael Dolin, MD, and Gerald L. Mandell, MD. Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases, 4th ed. New York: Churchill Livingstone, 1995. 1364-1373. 7. Silverstein, Alvin, Virginia Silverstein, and Robert Silverstein. Mononucleosis. Hillside, New Jersey: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 1994.