Bodily breeding
Question: How many different species live on or in the human body and what is
the actual total population of these guests?
Answer: The microorganisms that inhabit the body of a healthy human being are
known as the normal microbial fauna and they come in two different
types—those that are permanently resident and those that are transient. Of
course, any number of fascinating and nasty parasites can join this microbial
community and make the human body their home.
In his seminal work Life on Man (Secker & Warburg, 1969),
bacteriologist Theodor Rosebury gives a full biological and historical…
