ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we examine the characteristics of bacterial growth. This information is important because infectious organisms have specific growth requirements, and understanding the requirements for growth will help us to understand the infectious process better. Recall that one of the requirements for a successful infection is being able to defeat host defenses. One way to accomplish this is to overwhelm it numerically. As we examine bacterial growth, you will also learn about specific techniques used by clinical microbiologists that have a key role in identifying and diagnosing bacterial diseases.
