The samples can include material such as wound debridement, removed orthopedic implants, removed catheters or shunts, excised tonsils, amputated tissue, sputum, stool, or other excretions. The samples can be cultured for microbes, examined using microscopy, or analyzed using molecular techniques. The studies can examine microbes or the host's response to microbes by examining the nucleic acids (e.g. 16S DNA, mRNA), proteins, or other metabolites.
