Intestinal bacterial flora in normal adults in the U.K.

The A. reports on the composition of the bacterial flora being present all through the intestine of normal adults in the United Kingdom, listing the number and families of the aerobes and anaerobes occupying the various portions of the alimentary tract. Emphasis is then laid on a comparison between the normal "British" flora in the colon and rectum, where the ratio of anaerobes to aerobes is 100 to 1, and the flora found in normal adults in Africa, India and Japan, stressing the major differences in the numbers of clostridia and non-sporing anaerobes. The A. finally highlights the importance of the factors governing the intestinal bacterial ecology, as well as the serious consequences likely to arise from the alteration of such flora.