刚刚看到大家争论朊病毒，不能不凑这个热闹。

“Prion”这个词国内的译法有多种，有“朊病毒”、“普里昂”、“普列昂获得蛋白质侵染因子”、“蛋白质病毒”、“蛋白质感染因子”等。（http://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFDTotal-SWJX200506043.htm）

但将“Prion”译为“朊病毒”，涉嫌偷懒和不准确比附的结果，是不对的。

“Prion”译为“普里昂”也许更好。Prion为用“proteinaceous infections particle”生造的词，与病毒有一点相似性，但无关（http://wenku.baidu.com/view/12fa380d4a7302768e993908.html）。其词源学含义是：The word prion is a compound word derived from the initial letters of the words proteinaceous'' and infectious'', with -on added by analogy to the word virion. （http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-a-Prion.aspx）

其英文定义Prion: A small proteinaceous infectious disease-causing agent that is believed to be the smallest infectious particle. A prion is neither bacterial nor fungal nor viral and contains no genetic material. Prions have been held responsible for a number of degenerative brain diseases, including mad cow disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, fatal familial insomnia, kuru, and an unusual form of hereditary dementia known as Gertsmann-Straeussler-Scheinker disease. （http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=5047）注意“A prion is neither bacterial nor fungal nor viral and contains no genetic material.”，普里昂（Prion）既非细菌，又非真菌，也不是病毒，因为它不包含遗传物质。

另详细见：What is a Prion?（http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-is-a-Prion.aspx）

翻译名词的理解宜按英文进行，所以“朊病毒”不是病毒，都是翻译惹得祸。愿学界从此放弃这个极具误导性的误译。