Concept
Normal flora / microbiota
Resident microbial community concept
my-kroh-BY-oh-tuh
High-yield clue
Not every microbe found on a body site is causing disease.
Overview
A concept describing resident microbial communities and the difference between colonization, opportunism, and disease in educational framing.
Classification
- Host-microbe relationship
- Ecology concept
Lab & identification clues
- Colonization vocabulary
- Contamination versus infection concept
- Site-specific flora
Associations
- Skin flora
- Gut microbiota
- Opportunistic infection vocabulary
Commonly confused with
- Pathogen
- Contaminant
Your notes
Original microbiology concept summary. Sources checked: OpenStax Microbiology 2e, NCBI Bookshelf Medical Microbiology, and CDC/WHO topic pages where applicable; reviewed 2026-06. Educational only; no diagnosis, treatment selection, infection-control instructions, or specimen-handling guidance.