The most common bacterium on human skin, and the most common source of medical-device infections. Explore its illustrative 3D model, human context, and sources.
S. epidermidis is, in Otto’s review, the species most frequently isolated from human epithelia: a routine colonizer of skin and mucous membranes that has apparently not evolved to cause disease but to maintain a generally benign relationship with its host. The same organism is the most common source of infections on indwelling medical devices, where its biofilms make treatment difficult, and it accounts for at least 22% of bloodstream infections in US intensive care unit patients. Its clinical importance comes from modern medicine and vulnerable hosts rather than from aggressive virulence.
A positive skin or blood-culture result frequently reflects normal colonization or contamination rather than infection, which is why interpretation depends on clinical context and on whether a device is present. Otto describes this species as an accidental pathogen whose infections follow the breach of skin barriers and the presence of implanted material.
Original schematic 3D phenotype. The curated BacDive record for type strain DSM 20044 gives coccus-shaped, Gram-positive, non-motile cells that are facultative anaerobes, isolated from the nose, and the Medical Microbiology chapter describes staphylococcal cluster arrangement. No flagella or endospores should be assigned. Otto’s review describes extracellular polysaccharide and biofilm formation rather than a discrete capsule, so any surface layer should be labelled as biofilm material rather than an assigned capsule, and this silhouette must stay visibly distinct from the S. aureus cluster already in the catalogue. Colours, dimensions, layer thicknesses and displayed arrangements are diagram choices, not a measured individual cell. Independent scientific review remains pending.
Source check: 2026-09-21. Educational content; independent scientific review remains pending.