Pharmacology 2060A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Leukopenia, Enterohepatic Circulation, Macrolide
Document Summary
Bacteria are single celled organisms that can be shaped as rods, spheres, or spirals. Bacteria occupy almost every habitat on earth: includes normal bacteria on our skin, mouth and gi tract. Most bacteria are rendered harmless by our immune system and some even play beneficial roles. Some bacteria are pathogenic and cause disease such as cholera, syphilis and tuberculosis. Before the discovery of antibiotics, bacterial infection was a major cause of morbidity and death. Bacteria have a number of virulence factors that they use to cause infection. Virulence factors include : fimbriae and pilli o o o. Fimbriae and pilli are hair like structure that project form the surface of bacterial cells. They allow bacteria to attach to certain sites in our body so they are not washed away. For example, the bacteria e. coli are known to cause bladder infections. E. coli produce fimbriae that attach to the urogenital tract.