ABSTRACT
The internist deals with infectious diseases that are primarily monoetiological: a single organism is responsible for a given set of symptoms. While the obstetrician/ gynecologist also deals with monoetiological disease, its pathogenic spectrum is often different. The principal pattern in Obstetrics and Gynecology is polymicrobial infection which primarily involves microaerophilic and obligatory anaerobic bacteria. When the 10 most common bacterial pathogens for the internist and the obstetrician/gynecologist are compared, the degree of overlap is not significant. On the other hand, when bacterial isolates from the intravascular compartment are contrasted, the differences are obvious (Table 4.1).
