Home > E. Pathology by systems > Genital system > Female genital system > Vagina > vaginal infections
vaginal infections
Monday 16 March 2009
From puberty until menopause, the vagina is protected from pathogens by a low pH resulting from catabolism of glycogen in the normal epithelium by lactobacilli.
Antibiotics can kill the lactobacilli and make the vagina susceptible to infection.
To be successful as pathogens, microorganisms have developed specific mechanisms for attaching to vaginal or cervical mucosa or enter via local breaks in the mucosa during sex (genital warts, syphilis).