Chapter 28.4, Problem 2QTC

Summary Introduction

To analyze:

The factors besides antibiotic consumption that influence the numbers and types of microflora in the human body.

Introduction:

Microflora or microbiota is the collection of microbes that dwell in the human body in parts such as skin, mammary glands, placenta, seminal fluid, uterus, ovarian follicles, lung, saliva, oral mucosa, conjunctiva, biliary, and gastrointestinal tracts. It has been estimated that the surface area of the skin supports about 10¹² bacteria. Microorganisms in the human body play an important role in maintaining human health. For example, bacteria present on the skin can protect the skin from infection of other organisms or gut bacteria that salvage unabsorbed dietary sugars and protecting the host from pathogenic organisms.