On Size and Life

It consists of forty-seven chapters, divided into five sections. The first section is a general, elementary, and brief introduction to the bacterial cell and its physiology, as well as to immunoassays and other techniques used in identification and classification of bacterial species. Section two, with 22 chapters, has been devoted to systemic bacteriology. These chapters, although brief, are well organized; almost all include a discussion about microscopy, culture appearances, biochemical reactions, serological characteristics, and, finally, infections of pathogenic members of each genus. There is, however, hardly any material about the clinical management or treatment of infections, although, where applicable, immunization has been discussed. A brief discussion about the clinical management of each bacterial infection would have been appropriate. It is also worth noting that mention of the epidemiology of bacterial species in this book pertains mostly, though not exclusively, to Britain. For example, in the discussion of infections caused by mycobacteria and corynebacteria, the main focus in terms of epidemiology is England. The third section explains the diagnostic methods used in bacteriology laboratories. This section is written almost like a manual; each chapter consists of two parts: specimen collection and laboratory procedure. A concise figure providing an overview of the laboratory procedure accompanies each chapter. Sections four and five consider a few of the important pathogenic species of protozoa and fungi, respectively. The book contains 151 excellent, mostly colorful figures, supplemented by 13 tables. (An error was noted in the presentation of biochemical reactions in differentiation of bacterial species in figure 22, where the description of an upper row of test tubes has been mistakenly given to a lower row and vice versa.) There is a detailed index; however, no bibliography or list of references is given. Overall, Bacteriology Illustrated, is well organized and clearly written; about one-fourth of the information and many of the illustrations presented are hard to find in many bacteriology textbooks, which make it a fine "supplement to more complete texts."