Bacterial Infections of the Upper Respiratory Tract

1 Introduction 2 Anatomy 3 Defense Mechanisms 4 Pathogenesis 5 Bacterial Virulence Mechanisms 6 Normal Flora 7 General Considerations: Collection, Transport, and Processing of Specimens for Bacteriologic Examination 8 Infections of the Oral Cavity 9 Paranasal Sinuses and Associated Airways 10 Ear 11 Abscesses Adjacent to and Originating from the Oral Cavity Keywords: bacterial infections of upper respiratory tract; defense mechanisms; bacterial virulence mechanisms; hospital microbiology laboratories and aerobic and anaerobic cultures; oral cavity infections; acute bacterial epiglottitis-inflammation and edema of epiglottis and life-threatening airway obstruction; paranasal sinuses and associated airways; otitis media and acute mastoiditis