Medical Significance of Mycoplasmas

Mycoplasmas were first isolated from humans in 1937 (1 ), although it was not until 1951 (2 ) that selective media were used to identify mycoplasmas in the oropharynx. In 1962, an etiological link was established between what we now know to be Mycoplasma pneumoniae and cases of primary atypical pneumonia (3 ). Other mycoplasmas have been isolated from predominantly respiratory and genito-urinary sites. These are outlined in Table 1 .

	Location	Occurrence
Species	O, oropharynx;R, respiratory;GU, genitourinary	+ Rare,++ Common,+++ Widespread
M. pneumoniae	R	+
M. genitalium	GU	+
	R	+
U. urealyticum	GU	++
M. hominis	GU	++
	O	+
M. buccale	O	+
M. faucium	O	+
M. lipophilum	O	+
M. orale	O	+++
M. salivarium	O	+++
M. fermentans	Joints	+