| |
flora
(florīә)
the collective plant organisms of a given locality.
enteric flora
, gut flora
, intestinal flora
the bacteria that normally inhabit the interior of the intestine, belonging mainly to the phyla Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes; some aid in digestion and food breakdown. Changes in the composition of the intestinal flora are associated with a number
of diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome, and a decrease in the relative proportion of Bacteroides is seen in obesity.

Copyright 2007. An Elsevier publication. All rights reserved.
Click here for important legal information about Dorland's Medical Dictionary.
|