ABSTRACT
The word “growth” means different things to different people. To most, growth implies increase in size, as in the growth of a tree or a child. To a microbiologist, growth may also mean the increase in the size of a microbial cell, but more often it refers to an increase in the numbers of cells in a microbial population. In this chapter and for the remainder of this book, growth will usually refer to the latter meaning: an increase in the numbers of organisms in a microbial population.
