Completely revised, updated and expanded, the Pocket Guide to Clinical Microbiology, 2nd edition will help laboratory associates quickly locate answers to the most commonly asked questions they encounter in their daily business. This pocket-sized resource for clinical microbiologists offers immediate access to essential information needed in lab work. The author has organized the information in this book to follow the lab process - from differential diagnosis to specimen collection, transport, and processing and then to identification, susceptibility testing, immunodiagnostic testing, and finally, reportable diseases. Each major group of microbes - bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites - is discussed comprehensively in the individual sections. As an added feature, the Pocket Guide presents a uniform approach to the taxonomy of the organisms, clearly showing the relationships among the many clinically relevant microbes. This unique reference presents its valuable data in charts, diagrams, and figures, making it a very easy-to-use, time-saving resource.