Introduction to

Microbiology
Department of Applied Science
King Saud University/ Community
College
By: Murad Sawalha

1
 Outline

• Other field of microbiology:

- Paleomicrobiology.
- Parasitology
- Sanitary microbiology
- Veterinary microbiology.
• Pioneers in the science of microbiology:
- Anton Van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)
- Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
- Robert Koch (1843-1910)
• Metric system
• Microscopes 2
 Other field of microbiology
• Paleomicrobiology: involves the study of ancient microbes,
excellent career field for individuals withh interest in
Anthropology, archaeology, & microbiology.

• Parasitology: parasite means any organism that lives in or on

another living organism, include all microorganisms in our
endogenous flora.
- This field involves 3 categories of parasites: parasitic
protozoa, helminths, & anthropods.

• Sanitary microbiology: includes the processes & disposal of

garbage & sewage wastes, as well as the purification and
processing of water supplies.

• Veterinary microbiology: concern of microorganisms cause

infectious diseases in animals, and the transmission of diseases
from animals to humans.
- Zoonoses or zoonotic diseases:
infectious diseases of humans that are acquired from animal 3
 Pioneers in the science of microbiology
• 1) Anton Van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723)

• Invented the first microscope (50 – 300x), was the first to accurately
observe and describe microorganisms.

• The first person who saw live bacteria & protozoa, for that he is referred to
as the father of microbiology, bacteriology, & protozoology.
• Was not a trained scientist.

• He used his microscope to examine many specimens, he observed tiny

creatures which he called animalcules.

• Record his observations in letters, which convinced scientists of the

existance of microorganisms.

• Depend on these findings, abiogenesis theory developed (the idea that life
can arise spontaneously from non living material).

• Following the works of Pasteur & Tyndall, this theory disproved, and
proved that life can arise only from preexisting life (theory of biogenesis)
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 Pioneers in the science of
microbiology
• 2) Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)
• Through his experiments, Pasteur dealt the fatal blow to the theory of
spontaneous generation (abiogenesis)

• Developed vaccines for Chickenpox, anthrax, rabies

• Demonstrated that all fermentations were due to the activities of specific

yeasts and bacteria.

• Developed Pasteurization to preserve wine during storage.

• Pasteurization: can be used to kill pathogens in many types of liquids.

• Discovered that fermentative microorganisms were anaerobic and

could live only in absence of oxygen.

• He made significant contributions to the germ theory of disease (specific

microorganisms cause specific infectious diseases), such as anthrax is
caused by a specific bacterium “Bacillus anthracis”, & tuberculosis is
caused by “Mycobacterium tuberculosis” 5
 Pioneers in the science of
microbiology
• 3) Robert Koch (1843-1910)
3) Robert Koch (1843-1910)

• Proved that the anthrax bacillus is the cause of anthrax (contribute

in the germ theory)

• He discovered that Bacillus anthracis produces spores, capable of

resisting adverse conditions.

• He developed methods of fixing, staining, & photographing

bacteria

• He developed methods of cultivating bacteria on solid media

- Petri dash: flat glass dish to culture bacteria on
solid media - Use of agar (a polysaccharide
obtained from seaweed) as a solidifying agent.
- Pure culture: means
only one type of organism is growing in a solid culture medium 6or
 Cont.
• Koch’s Postulates: scientific procedure to prove
that a specific microorganism is the cause of a
specific infectious disease:
- Microorganism must be present in every case of the
disease but absent from healthy individuals
- The suspected microorganism must be isolated and
grown in pure cultures.
- The disease must result when the isolated
microorganism is inoculated into a healthy host.
- The same microorganism must be isolated from the
disease host.
• Exceptions to Kochs postulates: 7
Metric system
• Is used to describe the sizes of
microorganisms, the sizes of bacteria and
protozoa are expressed in micrometers,
whereas the sizes of viruses are expressed
in nanometer.
• A meter can be divided into 10
decimeters, 100 centimeters, 1000
millimeters, 1 million micrometers, or 1
billion nanometers.