History of Microbiology
Chapter 1
Microbiology
The study of organisms too small to be
seen individually with the naked eye
during part or all of their life cycle.
Types of Microbes
Scientific Nomenclature
Bacillus anthracis
Genus
Species
Why does it have to be Latin?
The History before Microbiology
The Dawn of Microbiology
The Golden Age of Microbiology
“In the fields of
observation chance
favors only the
prepared mind.”
Louis Pasteur, 1854
“From my numerous
observations, I conclude
that these tubercle bacilli
occur in all tuberculosis
disorders, and that they
are distinguishable from
all other
microorganisms.”
Robert Koch, 1882
“…it appears that all
that is requisite is to
dress the wound with
some material capable
of killing these septic
germs…”
Joseph Lister, 1867
The Age of Antibiotics
“One sometimes finds
what one is not
looking for.”
Alexander Fleming
“It looks like a
miracle.”
Howard Florey, upon
testing penicillin in
mice
“From the moment
he is born to the
moment he dies,
man is subject to the
activities of
numerous microbes.”
Selman Waksman, 1952
The Post Antibiotic Age?
“The genie is out
of the bottle... it
will happen
again... the only
question is when
and where.”
Donald Law, 2002 on
the emergence of
VRSA
“If we generate a
lot of this form of
TB we will have
pushed ourselves
back to the preantibiotic days of
the last century”
Jeremiah Chakaya
on the XDR-TB
epidemic
2008 49 Countries
2010 58 Countries
Remember that not all Microbes
are bad.
“There is no Age of
Dinosaurs or Age of Man,
it has always been and
will always be the Age of
Bacteria”
Stephen Jay Gould