Overview
Providing a solid introduction to the essentials of diagnostic microbiology, this accessible, full-color text helps you develop the problem-solving skills necessary for success in the clinical setting. A reader-friendly, "building block" approach to microbiology moves progressively from basic concepts to advanced understanding, guiding you through the systematic identification of etiologic agents of infectious diseases.
• Building block approach encourages recall of previously learned information, enhancing your critical and problem solving skills.
• Case in Point feature introduces case studies at the beginning of each chapter.
• Issues to Consider encourages you to analyze and comprehend the case in point.
• Key Terms provide a list of the most important and relevant terms in each chapter.
• Objectives give a measurable outcome to achieve by completing the material.
• Points to Remember summarize and help clearly identify key concepts covered in each chapter.
• Learning assessment questions evaluate how well you have mastered the material.
• New content addresses bone and joint infections, genital tract infections, and nosocomial infections.
• Significantly updated chapter includes current information on molecular biology and highlights content on multidrug resistant bacteria.
• Reorganized chapters accent the most relevant information about viruses and parasites that are also transmissible to humans.
• Case studies on the Evolve site let you apply the information that you learn to realistic scenarios encountered in the laboratory.
The book contains predominantly color illustrations, with some black-and-white illustrations.
Synopsis
Providing a solid introduction to the essentials of diagnostic microbiology, this accessible, full-color text helps you develop the problem-solving skills necessary for success in the clinical setting. A reader-friendly, "building block" approach to microbiology moves progressively from basic concepts to advanced understanding, guiding you through the systematic identification of etiologic agents of infectious diseases.
- Building block approach encourages recall of previously learned information, enhancing your critical and problem solving skills.
- Case in Point feature introduces case studies at the beginning of each chapter.
- Issues to Consider encourages you to analyze and comprehend the case in point.
- Key Terms provide a list of the most important and relevant terms in each chapter.
- Objectives give a measurable outcome to achieve by completing the material.
- Points to Remember summarize and help clearly identify key concepts covered in each chapter.
- Learning assessment questions evaluate how well you have mastered the material.
- New content addresses bone and joint infections, genital tract infections, and nosocomial infections.
- Significantly updated chapter includes current information on molecular biology and highlights content on multidrug resistant bacteria.
- Reorganized chapters accent the most relevant information about viruses and parasites that are also transmissible to humans.
- Case studies on the Evolve site let you apply the information that you learn to realistic scenarios encountered in the laboratory.
Roberta B. Carey
This is a new textbook addressing the basics in the practice of clinical microbiology and the identification of microorganisms causing infectious diseases. This text was designed for the entry level laboratory scientist to provide a firm theoretical foundation in microbiology and the skills required in the clinical laboratory. These objectives are worthwhile because the educational background of students varies widely. The target audience is the medical technologist learning practical skills to work in a diagnostic laboratory. It is also appropriate for pathology residents and infectious disease fellows who are doing a rotation in clinical microbiology. There are a few minor errors in the material resulting from generalizations and the lack of space to discuss certain concepts in detail. Most contributors are well known in their fields of expertise and cover the material very thoroughly. The book is written in a user-friendly manner with colorful topic headers and chart titles. Topics are divided into short sections for quick reference and easy reading. There are no long paragraphs of text to wade thorough to find the area of interest. The most outstanding feature of the book is the extensive illustrations and high quality photographs to demonstrate the appearance of an organism, a test result, or an instrument under discussion. Because the text is more than 1,000 pages, the well-arranged table of contents is a critical feature. The majority of the references are review articles written in the last 10 years. This textbook would be a welcome addition to any clinical microbiology lab for the continued training of new personnel and the reeducation of current staff. It covers multiple facetsof the microbiology lab from biosafety practices and quality improvement to new technologies such as PCR. The approach is practical with sample charts and tables ready to use in one's own laboratory.
Editorials
From The Critics
Reviewer: Rebecca T. Horvat, PhD, D(ABMM)(University of Kansas Medical Center)Description: This is an updated version of a popular textbook designed to provide a strong foundation in clinical microbiology. It uses a variety of learning features that will enhance the experience of students.
Purpose: The purpose of the new edition is to update the book and enhance it with new features. There is clearly a great need for this since clinical microbiology is an evolving science with many new discoveries in the last few years.
Audience: This will be an excellent tool to teach the foundations of clinical microbiology to healthcare professionals, especially clinical laboratory scientists. The authors are experienced educators and they include material from many well established clinical microbiologists.
Features: The book covers all the information necessary for detecting infectious agents in a clinical laboratory. It is divided into three distinct sections, beginning with a good review of the role of a clinical laboratory and the technical details of each technique, some of which are new and have changed the approach to testing algorithms. The second section has several chapters that establish the methods and tests used to identify infectious microbes in a clinical laboratory. These chapters contain high quality color pictures that show reactions typically performed during bacterial identification. They also show good pictures of Gram stains and characteristics of the colony morphology of bacteria as well as good tables that list tests that differentiate infectious agents. The last section provides an organ-based approach to infectious disease and which specimens are likely to yield the infectious agent. These well designed chapters allow for the discussion of the variety of infectious agents that infect different body sites. All chapters start with a case report on an infection and include the laboratory data. Additional case studies are available online. At the end of each chapter, a set of questions guide learners to essential material.
Assessment: This is an excellent microbiology textbook that could be used in the classroom for training laboratory scientists. It also would be very useful as a reference in the clinical microbiology laboratory. This is a must-have for any clinical microbiologist.
Valerie L. Ng
This is a comprehensive textbook of diagnostic microbiology. The purpose is to provide a student-friendly ""building-block"" approach to diagnostic microbiology. This book would be useful for medical technology students, practicing clinical laboratory scientists, clinical microbiologists, and educators. This is a comprehensive textbook of diagnostic microbiology, ranging from basic theoretical concepts to actual practical tips for the bench-level microbiologist. There are excellent diagnostic algorithms for identification of various bacteria, and nicely illustrated sections on newer rapid antigen detection tests and ""emergent"" molecular-biology based technologies. A truly outstanding feature of this book is the wonderful collection of photographs of bacteria stains, various colorimetric biochemical reactions, and representative growth of various bacteria on different media. The chapter on ""Microscopic Examination of Infected Materials"" alone may be worth the price of this entire book, given the unbelievably comprehensive collection of photomicrographs demonstrating a wide variety of bacteria in various specimens with different stains. The captions to these photomicrographs are also extraordinarily well written and of high educational value, clearly detailing how the original observations -- depending on specimen source -- influence the final interpretation. This is a great reference text to have ready at hand on the bookshelf for everyday use in a clinical microbiology laboratory. It is also a very nice textbook from which to teach a course focused on the principles and applications of diagnostic microbiology.Roberta B. Carey
This is a new textbook addressing the basics in the practice of clinical microbiology and the identification of microorganisms causing infectious diseases. This text was designed for the entry level laboratory scientist to provide a firm theoretical foundation in microbiology and the skills required in the clinical laboratory. These objectives are worthwhile because the educational background of students varies widely. The target audience is the medical technologist learning practical skills to work in a diagnostic laboratory. It is also appropriate for pathology residents and infectious disease fellows who are doing a rotation in clinical microbiology. There are a few minor errors in the material resulting from generalizations and the lack of space to discuss certain concepts in detail. Most contributors are well known in their fields of expertise and cover the material very thoroughly. The book is written in a user-friendly manner with colorful topic headers and chart titles. Topics are divided into short sections for quick reference and easy reading. There are no long paragraphs of text to wade thorough to find the area of interest. The most outstanding feature of the book is the extensive illustrations and high quality photographs to demonstrate the appearance of an organism, a test result, or an instrument under discussion. Because the text is more than 1,000 pages, the well-arranged table of contents is a critical feature. The majority of the references are review articles written in the last 10 years. This textbook would be a welcome addition to any clinical microbiology lab for the continued training of new personnel and the reeducation of current staff. It covers multiple facetsof the microbiology lab from biosafety practices and quality improvement to new technologies such as PCR. The approach is practical with sample charts and tables ready to use in one's own laboratory.3 Stars from Doody