OVERVIEW OF MEDICAL
- resident microbes in a particular organ /
MICROBIOLOGY
TERMS
• MICROBIOLOGY – study of
microbes; most of these microbes
essentially need the use of various
types of microscopes in order to be
seen and studied
• MICROBES – very small living and
nonliving entities
o 2 TYPES:
(1) ACELLULAR MICROBES – “infectious
particles” ; include viruses and prions
(2) CELLULAR MICROBES – include all
bacteria, archaea, protozoa, algae, fungi
• PATHOGENS – disease-causing
microbes
• NON-PATHOGENS- microbes that do
not cause disease
IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING MEDICAL
MICROBIOLOGY
• acknowledge which of the microbes
should we look out for (pathogenic)
and which ones we should take care
for (non-pathogenic)
• understand the diverse role of
microbes in the human body
MC3 (Lecture) CDU – CN A.Y ’20-’21 OVERVIEW OF MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY
INDIGENOUS MICROBIOTA
organ system
Why are indigenous microbiota
beneficial to man?
(1) inhibit growth of pathogens in those
areas where they live by occupying space
(2) deplete the food supply
(3) secrete materials that may prevent or
reduce the growth of pathogens
OPPORTUNISTIC PATHOGENS
➢ Pathogens that usually don’t cause
any problem but have the potential
to if they gain access to a part
where they do not belong
➢ Example: Escherichia coli (E. coli)
don’t cause harm as long as it stays
in the GIT but is dangerous if they
gain access to the urinary bladder,
blood, skin causing infection in the
aforementioned organs
➢ Some opportunistic pathogens strike
when the host is stressed,
weakened, or immunosuppressed
➢ These are microbe waiting for the
OPPORTUNITY to cause disease.
MICROBES CAUSE 2 CATEGORIES OF
DISEASES:
(1) INFECTIOUS DISEASE
- when a pathogen colonizes the body and
subsequently causes disease
(2) MICROBIAL INTOXICATION
– when a person ingests a toxin that has
been pre-formed by a microbe.
BOTH of them cause disease but the
difference is where the toxin is formed.
One, is inside the body, one is already
preformed or already created outside of the
body and taken in its toxic form.

MC3 (Lecture) CDU – CN A.Y ’20-’21 OVERVIEW OF MEDICAL MICROBIOLOGY