Microbiology is the biology of microorganisms that are simple forms of life which are visible only with a microscope. Microorganisms may be normal flora and pathogenic. The biological principles illustrated by microbiology are Biochemistry, Molecular biology and genetics.
Medical microbiology is the study of causative agents of infectious diseases of humans and their reactions to infections. It concerns the biological characteristics of microorganisms and their relationship with human hosts including etiology, pathogenesis, laboratory diagnosis, specific treatment and control of infection (immunization). Medical microbiology is most widely studied and followed branches due to its great importance to medicine. It is not merely about diagnosing and treating disease; it also involves the study of beneficial microbes.
Modern medical microbiology are.
- Bacteriology– the study of bacteria, the causative agents of a member of infectious diseases.
- Virology– the science of viruses, non-cellular living sy
stems, capable of causing infectious diseases in man. - Immunology – the science which concerned with mechanisms of body protection against pathogenic microorganisms, foreign cells and substances.
- Protozoology – deals with pathogenic unicellular animal organisms
- Phycology– the study of algae
- Parasitology– the science of parasites
- Mycology– the study of yeast, molds and fungi
The new diagnostic methods are immunoassays, automated and semi-automated systems and molecular biological methods. Applications of new diagnostic methods are respiratory infections, viral diseases and sexually transmitted diseases.
The recent advances in medical microbiology are new technologies enabled microbiology results to be available in minutes or hours rather than days. An increasing range of viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa can be detected and characterized via molecular biological methods. The new challenge in medical microbiology is the numerous emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases like AIDS, SARS, Avian influenza, Tuberculosis, viral hepatitis etc,. Medical microbiology has developed from the experience phase to experimental phase and to modern phase and is still developing.
