The Follicular Distribution and Abundance of Resident Bacteria on Human Skin

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Abstract
A cryostat sectioning procedure was used to determine quantitative viable counts of microorganisms on the surface and in successive layers of human cadaver skin biopsies. Using a previously described xenograft model, the dependence of microorganisms on the presence of sebaceous glands was investigated by using full thickness (1.5-2.0 mm) and split thickness (0.6 mm, ensuring sebaceous gland exclusion) human skin. Substantial variation in the distribution and abundance of skin bacteria, even amongst biopsies from the same cadaver, was shown. In general, propionibacteria were distributed without a narrow band at varying depths beneath the skin surface whereas staphylococci were more broadly distributed. The importance of this with respect to topically applied antiseptics and antimicrobial agents was indicated. The xenograft studies demonstrated that propionibacteria were dependent on the presence of sebaceous glands whereas staphylococci were not.