Germ-Free Life

Synopsis

The foetus ‘in utero’ is biologically sterile, yet almost from the moment of birth the organism begins to develop a highly complex intestinal bacterial flora essential for the maintenance of independent life. This video explains and demonstrates the use of plastic isolators to create a completely (almost) sterile environment in which to rear gnotobiotic (germ-free) animals in order to study the effect of intentinal micro-organisms on nutrition, drug metabolism and immune responses. It also shows the use of plastic isolators in the hospital treatment of patients with immunological defects.

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Video; Videocassette. VHS. col. 10 min.

Year of production

1988

Availability

Sale

Uses

6th-form and undergratuate biology. Pre-clinical medical and veterinary studies.

Subjects

Biology; Medical sciences

Keywords

immune system; micro-organisms; sterile environments

Credits

Writer

Marie E Coates

Contributor

Douglas Fisher

Cast

L G Goodwin

Distributor

Name

Wellcome Film

Email

misc@wellcome.ac.uk

Web

http://wellcomelibrary.org/about-us/about-the-collections/moving-image-and-sound-collection/ External site opens in new window

Phone

020 7611 8766

Fax

020 7611 8577

Address

Moving Image & Sound Collections
Wellcome Library
183 Euston Road
London
NW1 2BE