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    Normal Flora of The Human Body

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    Suzan Matar
    1. Various bacteria and fungi normally inhabit certain areas of the human body like the skin, mouth, colon, and vagina. They are considered part of the normal flora. 2. Normal flora can cause disease in immunocompromised individuals, but also provide protection against pathogens by inhibiting their growth. They also serve nutritional functions like producing vitamins. 3. The major sites of normal flora include the skin, respiratory tract, intestines, and urogenital tract. The specific bacteria that normally inhabit each area can sometimes lead to infection if they spread to other body sites.

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    Normal Flora of The Human Body

    Uploaded by

    Suzan Matar
    477 views4 pages
    1. Various bacteria and fungi normally inhabit certain areas of the human body like the skin, mouth, colon, and vagina. They are considered part of the normal flora. 2. Normal flora can cause disease in immunocompromised individuals, but also provide protection against pathogens by inhibiting their growth. They also serve nutritional functions like producing vitamins. 3. The major sites of normal flora include the skin, respiratory tract, intestines, and urogenital tract. The specific bacteria that normally inhabit each area can sometimes lead to infection if they spread to other body sites.

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    Normal Flora of the Human Body

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    1. Various bacteria and fungi normally inhabit certain areas of the human body like the skin, mouth, colon, and vagina. They are considered part of the normal flora. 2. Normal flora can cause disease in immunocompromised individuals, but also provide protection against pathogens by inhibiting their growth. They also serve nutritional functions like producing vitamins. 3. The major sites of normal flora include the skin, respiratory tract, intestines, and urogenital tract. The specific bacteria that normally inhabit each area can sometimes lead to infection if they spread to other body sites.

    Copyright:

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    Download as RTF, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as rtf, pdf, or txt
    477 views4 pages

    Normal Flora of The Human Body

    Uploaded by

    Suzan Matar
    1. Various bacteria and fungi normally inhabit certain areas of the human body like the skin, mouth, colon, and vagina. They are considered part of the normal flora. 2. Normal flora can cause disease in immunocompromised individuals, but also provide protection against pathogens by inhibiting their growth. They also serve nutritional functions like producing vitamins. 3. The major sites of normal flora include the skin, respiratory tract, intestines, and urogenital tract. The specific bacteria that normally inhabit each area can sometimes lead to infection if they spread to other body sites.

    Copyright:

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    Download as RTF, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as rtf, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    NORMAL FLORA OF THE HUMAN BODY

    DEFINITION:
    Various bacteria and fungi are permanent residents of certain body
    sites, e.g.: skin, oropharynx, colon and vagina. Viruses and parasites are
    not considered part of normal flora .Free sites of the body are: CNS,
    blood, lower bronchi, alveoli, liver, spleen, kidneys, and bladder.

    CARRIER STATE:
    This is different from normal flora. A carrier is an individual
    harbouring a potential pathogen, hence he is a source of infection.
    Colonization by an organism occurs when the organism establishes itself
    for a long time in an individual.

    ROLE IN HEALTH AND DISEASE:


    1.May cause disease in immunosuppressed and debilitated
    individuals. Here normal flora although not pathogenic in their
    usual site, they become pathogenic in other parts of the body. .
    2.May form a protective host defence mechanism. Normal flora
    prevent pathogens to multiply easily, hence they act as defence
    against infection.
    3.May serve as a nutritional function. Flora of the intestine produce
    VIT. B &VIT. K, that are needed for nutrition. Oral antibiotics
    given for a long time shall destroy normal flora of the intestine.

    NORMAL FLORA OF SKIN:


    Mainly Staph. epidermidis which become pathogenic when it reaches an
    artificial heart valve. Peptococcus and Propionibacterium are situated
    in the deeper follicles in the dermis, because they are anaerobic.

    NORMAL FLORA OF THE RESPIRATORY TRACT:


    Most flora inhabit nose, throat, and mouth. Lower bronchi and alveoli
    are almost sterile.
    Nose: Colonized by streptococci and mainly Staph. aureus.
    Throat: Colonized by Strept. viridans, Neisseria, Staph. epidermidis.
    This flora inhibit the growth of pathogens, e.g.: N. meningitidis,
    S. aureus, and Strep. Pyogenes.
    Mouth: Colonized mainly by Strep. viridans, e.g.: Strep. mutans that is
    associated with dental plaque and caries. Strep. viridans also may lead
    to subacute bacterial endocarditis, by entering the blood during dental
    surgery and attach to damaged heart valves. Eikenella corrodens
    (normal flora of mouth) may cause skin and soft tissue infections
    associated with human bites and injuries due to fist fights. Gums and
    gingiva are colonized by anaerobic organisms, e.g:: Bacteroides,
    Clostridium, Fusobacteria, and Peptostreptococcus. In patients with
    poor dental hygiene, these organisms may be aspirated and lead to lung
    abscess. Actinomyces israeli inhabiting the gingiva may also lead to
    abscesses of jaw, lungs and abdomen.

    NORMAL FLORA OF INTESTINAL TRACT:


    Stomach: With enzymes and low pH, hence very few organisms.
    Small Intestine: Small numbers of Strep., lactobacilli and Candida
    albicans.
    Colon: Major site of flora.
    Significance: Plays role in extra intestinal infection, e.g. E.coli leads to
    UTI. Bacteroides lead to peritonitis associated with appendicitis,
    perforation of intestine, and diverticulitis. Strep faecal leads to UTI and
    endocarditis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa leads to UTI, wound infections,
    etc. Clindamycin and other antibiotic therapy will suppress colon flora
    and allows Clost. difficile to overgrow and produces its toxin to give
    severe colitis.

    NORMAL FLORA OF THE GENITOURINARY TRACT:


    Lactobacillus colonizes the vagina. Before puberty and after
    menopause, oestrogen level is low, lactobacilli are few, vaginal pH is
    high (alkaline). After puberty, oestrogen level high, lactobacilli multiply
    to make vagina acidic, and suppress vaginal pathogens.
    Vagina being close to anus, may be contaminated by faecal flora, e.g
    E.coli and Enterobacter, leading to recurrent UTI. 15 - 20 % of women
    harbour group B Strept. in vagina, and this leads to sepsis and
    meningitis of the newborn while passing through the birth canal.
    Urine in bladder is sterile, becomes contaminated while passing through
    urethra by S. epidermidis, coliforms, diphtheroids. non-haemolytic
    Strept, and Myco. smegmatis.
    NORMAL FLORA OF CONJUNCTIVA:
    Mainly diphtheroids, Neisseria, Haemophilus, Moraxella,
    S. epidermidis, non-haemolytic streptococci. .

    CLASSIFICATION:
    •Resident flora
    •Transient flora: May be pathogenic or non-pathogenic. May live
    for hours, days or weeks on skin and mucous membranes.
    They are eliminated by:
    a. Low pH of skin
    b. Fatty acids in sebaceous glands of skin.
    c. Lysozyme on skin
    Washing, bathing and sweating will not remove transient skin flora,
    only scrubbing can do that.

    ADVANTAGES OF INTESTINAL FLORA:


    •Synthesis of VIT. K and VIT. B
    •Conversion of bile pigment to bile acids
    •Absorption of nutrients and breakdown of products.
    •Antagonism of pathogenic bacteria

    LOCATIONS OF NORMAL FLORA:


    1.Bacteroides: colon, throat, vagina
    2.C. albicans: mouth colon, vagina
    3.Clostridium: colon
    4.Diphtheroids: nasopharynx, skin, vagina
    5.E. coli + coliforms : colon, vagina, outer urethra
    6.Gardnerella vaginalis: vagina
    7.Haemophilus: nasopharynx, conjunctiva
    8.Lactobacillus: mouth, colon, vagina
    9.NeNisseria : mouth, nasopharynx
    10. Ps. aeruginosa : colon, skin
    11. S. aureus : skin, nose
    12. S. epidermidis : skin, nose, mouth, vagina, urethra.
    13. E. faecalis : colon
    14. S. viridans : mouth, nasopharynx.
    NORMAL FLORA OF MEDICAL IMPORTANCE

    Location Important organism


    Skin S. epidermidis
    Nose S. aureus
    Mouth Strep.viridans
    Dental plaque S. mutans
    Bacteroides, Fusobacterium, Anaerobic
    Gingiva
    cocci, Actinomyces
    Throat S. viridans
    Colon Bacteroides fragilis, E. coli
    Vagina
    Lactobacillus, E. coli, group B Strept.
    Urethra S. epidermidis, diphtheroids, E. coli

    MAJOR BACTERIA IN COLON

    Bacterium Pathogen
    Bacteroides fragilis Yes
    Bifidobacterium No
    Eubactrium No
    Coliforms Yes
    Enterococcus faecalis Yes
    Lactobacillus No
    Clostridium perfringens Yes

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