In celebration of Sydney M. Finegold, M.D.: Bacteroides fragilis in the colon: The good & the bad

Dr. Sydney Finegold is one of the most heralded leaders in the discovery, classification and scientific knowledge of anaerobic bacteria. On this occasion of his 90th birthday, this paper celebrates his lifetime of accomplishments and provides a perspective on the changes and growth in our understanding of one anaerobic species, Bacteroides fragilis. Over the last nearly 40 years, clinical and research data have fostered our current view that B. fragilis are essential symbiotes as well as, in some circumstances, pathogens with the capacity to induce both acute systemic and abdominal illnesses and possibly chronic colonic diseases.