Microbiology

Centennial College
Michael Lacatusmlacatus@mtsinai.on.ca

Microbiology: the study of microorganisms the

science which treats the nature, life and activity of
microorganisms
Can also be described as the study of small living things
so small that they are not visible to the naked eye.

Clinical/Medical microbiology is the branch of

microbiology (as science) concerned with the study of
micro organisms (microbes) that produce disease, the
response of the host to infection and the control of
infectious disease.

Microorganisms also known as microbes, are animals

or plants of microscopic size and are generally classified
as: algae-fungi (molds, mushrooms and yeasts)
protozoa-bacteria-rickettsiae-viruses and prions.

Microorganisms cannot be seen without the aid of a

microscope

Microorganisms are broadly divided into eucaryotes

(organisms with a true nucleus such as algae, fungi,
and protozoa) and procaryotes (organisms without a
true nucleus such as archaebacteria, bacteria and
cyanobacteria)

Loading

Microorganisms
initially start as a single cell
most microorganisms are unicellular
found everywhere in the world
few pathogenic and can invade the organism
creating disease for humans, animals or plants
most microorganisms are beneficial
found on medical devices returned to the
reprocessing department

Why do we need the knowledge and

understanding of microbiology concepts?
We are not going to become lab technicians !!!

Loading

Or microbiologists !!!

After all we are only going to be working in the

Central Processing Department !!!

International norms indicate that 5-10% of

patients will acquire an infection while in
hospital

In USA nosocomial infections are estimated to

occur in 5% of all acute care patients resulting
in more than 2 million cases at the cost of in
excess of 2 billion annually

Nosocomial infections are estimated to more

than double the mortality and morbidity risks
and they are estimated to result in about 20,000
deaths per year

The National Nosocomial Infections

Surveillance (NNIS) System of the CDC,
reported that between 1986 and 1998, the
highest rates of infection occurred in the burn
intensive care , neonatal ICU and pediatric ICU.
In these units the hand hygiene was poor on
more than 50% of heath care personnel.

35% of urinary tract infections

24% pneumonia
17% bloodstream infections
12% lower respiratory infections
10% cardiovascular

Canadian statistics indicate:

approximately 250,000 people contract
infections in Canadian hospitals each year
more than $ 1 billion is spent to treat them
more than 8,000 Canadians die each year
from hospital-acquired infections
up to half of these nosocomial infections are
preventable

Micro-organisms
most are single cell organisms
exhibit characteristic common to all biologic
systems: reproduction metabolism growth
irritability adaptability mutation
organization
micro-organisms and all other living
organisms are classified as prokaryotes or
eukaryotes

THE CELL

1839 Cell theory developed by Schleiden and

Schwann who, for the first time, claimed that all
organisms are formed of one or more cells and that
all cells are derived form preexisting cells
The word cell comes from the Latin word cellular or
a small room and was chosen by Robert Hooke in
1665.
Some cells are organisms onto themselves other
can only function as part of larger organisms such
as the cells that make up the body.

THE CELL

Common characteristics
Self feeding or nutrition;
Self-replication or growth;

Loading

Differentiation or forming new cell structures;

Chemical signaling or communication, and;
Evolution or changes that allow them to show
new biological properties.

Procaryotes:
- not a true nucleus and the genetic material is
surrounded by a nuclear membrane.
- cytoplasm is contained within the plasma
- cell membrane
- bacterial cell wall is a rigid exterior cell wall
- flagella is a motion device
- pili or fimbriae non-motion devices but aid
attachment
- spores several protein coats resistant to
and most chemicals

not
membrane

with
heat, drying

Cell structures
Eucaryotes:
- true nucleus enclosed by a
nuclear membrane. The nucleus
contains one or more chromosomes
- cell membrane
- cytoplasm is the cellular material
- cell wall is an external structure
found on plant cells, algae and
fungi
- flagella and cilia organelles of
locomotion

Classification of micro-organisms

Bacteria

Fungi

Yeasts

Molds

Viruses

Parasites

Bacteria

unicellular
can be living independently or as parasites
estimated to have been living on this planet for
almost 3.5 billion years
the term bacteria was first introduced in the
19th.century by Ferdinand Cohn from the Greek
word bacterion
40 million bacterial cells in a gram of soil
more bacterial cells than the human cells in the
human body

Bacteria

single cell organisms ranging from 1 to 10 microns in

length, 0.2 to 1 micron in width
can be classified according to:
morphology, staining characteristics, size, shape
presence or absence of: capsules, flagella, spores
and granules
colony formation
growth requirements and biochemical reactions
serological reaction
pathogenicity
oxygen requirements

Bacteria

can reproduce every 20 minutes

can cause disease (pathogenic) but only 1% of the
total number of known bacterial microorganisms
most of them useful: wine, cheese, beer, oil spills,
antibiotics
can adapt to any living conditions
due to misuse of antibiotics some became resistant:
MRSA, VRE

Bacteria
Basic parts
1.

Cell wall:

rigid structure gives shape to the cell

protects the cell from bursting

2.

Cell membrane: located under the cell wall semipermeable allowing liquids or gases to
either enter or exit
the cell

3.

Cystoplasm:

clear jelly-like proteinic material

all chemical reactions take place in the

environment
4.

Flagella:

fine filament used for movement

cytoplasmic

Bacteria
Basic parts (cont.)
5.

Nucleus: -controls all cell activities such as growth,

digestion, division and many more
-no nuclear membrane
-one strand of DNA

6.

Spore:

thick coat for protection

Bacteria Identification

1.

By shape

2.

By color change

3.

By the need for oxygen

The Basics- Terms

Bacteria can either grow in the presence of

oxygen or not!
Oxygen: Aerobic (Pseudomonas, Bacillus)
No Oxygen: Anaerobic (Clostridium)
Either: Facultative Anaerobe (E. coli)
Normally replicates through binary fission
Could also replicate through either genetic
recombination or mutation

The Gram Stain

developed in the late 1800s by Dr. Christian Gram,

a pathologist
originally being developed to stain kidney cells
Crystal violet iodine alcohol safarin
two colors obtained are based on the difference of
the cell wall composition
gram positive organisms are purple due to a thicker
peptidoglycan cell wall
gram negative organisms are red due to thin layer
of lipopolysaccarides
based on cell wall composition

Other Stain Methods

Ziehl-Neilson stain in which rod shaped
microorganisms stain red and fail to decolorize with
acid/alcohol treatment
also known as the acid-fast staining method
typically used for the identification Mycobacterium
tuberculosis and Mycobacterium leprae

Bacterial Cell