PRINCIPLES OF MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE PRACTICE 1
MICROBIOLOGY
MICROBIOLOGY
• The study of organisms too small to be
seen by the unaided eye
• Clinical Microbiology
o Study of microbial pathogens
considered health threats to
people
• Diagnostic Microbiology
o Examination and identification of
organisms through laboratory tests
• Food Microbiology
o Practical application and use of
beneficial microorganisms in food
processing
BRANCHES OF MICROBIOLOGY
o PARASITOLOGY: the study of parasites
o MYCOLOGY: the study of fungi
o BACTERIOLOGY: the study of bacteria
o VIROLOGY: the study of viruses
PIONEERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
 GIROLAMO FRACASTORO
 Diseases are caused by different
types of rapidly multiplying minute
body and that these bodies are
transferred from the infector to the
infected in three ways:
o by direct contact;
o by carriers such as soiled
clothing and linen;
o Through the air.
 ANTON VAN LEEUWENHOEK
 Father of Bacteriology and
Protozoology
 Discovered many life forms he
called ‘animalcules’
 Made a single lens microscope
which enabled the study of
minute organisms
 FRANCESCO REDI
 Disputed the Theory of
Spontaneous Generation
 Performed an experiment on
decaying meat in 1668
BSMLS
• JOHN NEEDHAM
 There must be a “life force” that
causes inanimate matter to
spontaneously come to life
• LAZZARO SPALLANZANI
 Observed that microbes move
through the air as possible source
of contamination and can be
destroyed by boiling.
• LOUIS PASTEUR
 Developed the principles of
vaccination, microbial
fermentation, and pasteurization
• JOSEPH LISTER
 Pioneer of antiseptic surgery
 Introduced the use of carbolic
acid (phenol) as a chemical
sterilizing agent for surgical
instruments
• HANS CHRISTIAN GRAM
 Credited for the Gram staining
technique which distinguishes two
major groups of bacteria: Gram-
positive and Gram-negative
• ALEXANDER FLEMING
 Discovered the first antibiotic,
Penicillin G, from a mold,
Penicillium notatum
• ROBERT KOCH
 Established the theory of etiologic
agents cause diseases by
providing experimental steps
(Koch’s postulates) used to prove
that a specific microbe causes a
specific disease.
 Koch’s postulates- 4 generalize
principles linking specific
PRINCIPLES OF MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE PRACTICE 1 BSMLS
MICROBIOLOGY

microorganisms to specific
diseases that remain today as the
“gold standard” in medical
microbiology • FLAGELLUM
 The structure that allows the
bacteria to move
 ATRICHOUS: absence of flagellum
 MONOTRICHOUS: one polar
flagellum AMPHITRICHOUS: single
flagellum on both ends
 LOPHOTRICHOUS: tuft of flagella
on either end or both ends
 PERITRICHOUS: flagella all around
the organism

BACTERIAL CELL
• CELL MEMBRANE
 The lipoprotein layer that
surrounds the cytoplasm
 Regulates the transport of solutes
in and out of the cell
• CELL WALL • INCLUSION BODIES
 The semi-rigid casing that provides  Food reserves of the bacteria
structural shape and support to o Babes-Ernst bodies:
the cell Corynebacterium
• RIBOSOMES diphtheriae
 Site of protein synthesis o Much’s granules:
 Gives granular structure to the Mycobacterium
cytoplasm tuberculosis
• NUCLEOID o Sulfur granules: Nocardia
 The region where the DNA is and Actinomyces species
concentrated o Bipolar bodies: Yersinia
• CAPSULE pestis
 Protective layer of a bacterium • SPORES
that resist phagocytosis and  Structures that allow the bacteria
desiccation to resist sterilization
• PILI  Composed of calcium
 Hair-like proteinaceous structures dipicolinate
that extend from the cell  Terminal: Clostridium tetani
membrane into the external  Subterminal: Clostridium
environment botulinum
 Neisseria gonorrheae has two  Central: Bacillus anthracis
types: somatic pili for adhesion
and sex pili for conjugation

BACTERIAL FORMS
PRINCIPLES OF MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE PRACTICE 1 BSMLS
MICROBIOLOGY

COMMON BACTERIAL PATHOGENS

BACTERIAL STAINING
• SIMPLE STAIN
o One stain is used (e.g. methylene
blue)
o Organisms should only be
observed for size, shape, and
uniformity of staining
• DIFFERENTIAL STAIN
o Used to distinguish between
groups of bacteria
o Gram staining, acid-fast staining

BACTERIAL METABOLISM AND GROWTH

 OXYGEN
o Aerobes: require oxygen for
growth (obligate, facultative,
microaerophilic)
o Anaerobes: grow best in an
atmosphere of reduced oxygen
tension
 CARBON DIOXIDE
o Capnophiles: need 5-10% carbon
dioxide to live
o Placed in candle jars
 NUTRIENTS ACID FAST STAINING
o Autotrophs: able to make energy-
containing organic molecules
from inorganic raw material by
using basic energy sources such
as sunlight
o Heterotrophs: organisms must
make use of food that comes
from other organisms in the form
of fats, carbohydrates and
proteins
 TEMPERATURE ANTIBIOTICS
o Psychrophile/cryophile: 0-15°C • Drugs administered to either kill bacteria
o Mesophile: 20-45°C (human or inhibit their growth by preventing
pathogens) reproduction
o Thermophile: 50-60°C • Types of Antibiotics
o Hyperthermophile: 80-113°C o BACTERIOSTATIC: agents that
 HYDROGEN AND ION CONCENTRATION inhibit bacterial growth
(pH) o BACTERICIDAL: agents that
o Acidophile: pH 0-5.5 (Sulfolobus) actively kill bacteria
o Neutrophile: pH 5.5-8.0 (E.coli) • Mechanisms of Action
o Alkalophile: pH 8.5-11.5 (Vibrio o Inhibits cell wall, protein, and
cholerae) nucleic acid synthesis
o Cell membrane destruction
BACTERIAL GROWTH CURVE
ANTIBIOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY TESTING
• For therapeutic guidelines
PRINCIPLES OF MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE PRACTICE 1 BSMLS
MICROBIOLOGY

• Indicates which antibiotic is effective in

killing the bacteria causing the infection
or disease

• Types:
 Disk diffusion susceptibility
test/Kirby-Bauer Method
 Broth dilution susceptibility test
BROTH DILUTION
• Minimal inhibitory concentration
o Lowest concentration of
antimicrobial agent that inhibits
bacterial growth.(bacteriostatic)
 Minimal bactericidal concentration
o Lowest antibiotic concentration
that results in 99.9% death of the
bacterial
population.(bactericidal)

DISK DIFFUSION METHOD

• Determines the susceptibility of bacterial
pathogens to antimicrobial agents
• Based on growth inhibition surrounding
antibiotic –impregnated disks
• Measurement of the diameter of the
zone of inhibition