Dermatology named resident and transient flora long before sequencing.
Hospital outbreaks taught that hands move Staphylococcus. That is hygiene, not a reason to bleach a life.
Timeline
Early dermatologists describe resident microbes on healthy skin.
Raymond Sabouraud classifies dermatophytes.
Teaching splits passing hitchhikers from organisms that persist.
Mary Marples treats skin as habitat, not a sterile sheet.
Hospital studies tie handwashing to fewer transmitted staphylococci.
The Human Microbiome Project samples skin alongside gut and mouth.
A Science paper maps how body site outweighs individuality for many taxa.
Metagenomes add viruses and fungi to the bacterial story.
History is bathrooms, wards and sequencing cores.
Keep exploring
More in Beneficial allies
Gut microbiome
A diverse intestinal community fed by fibre — not a single ideal species list and not a wellness shop.
Familiarity 88Probiotics
Live microbes in food or capsules — strain-specific guests, not a whole microbiome and not medical advice.
Familiarity 90Fermentation
Microbes turning food into kimchi, doenjang, yoghurt and other living crafts — chemistry plus culture.
Familiarity 85Soil microbes
The hidden workforce of land — decomposers, mycorrhizae and a mostly uncultured majority.
Familiarity 48Nitrogen cycle
How microbes move nitrogen between air, soil, water and food — plus the industrial shortcut that feeds billions.
Familiarity 40