This is the ninth edition of a long-running text introducing students in allied health science curricula to the fundamentals of microbiology, with an emphasis on the biology of human disease. The text's 24 chapters are organized into five sections focusing on the foundations of microbiology, the genetics of microorganisms, bacterial diseases of humans, viruses and eukaryotic microorganisms, and disease and resistance. Appendixes provide information on metric measurement and temperature conversion and a glossary of terms. The text includes multiple ancillary pedagogical materials, including key concepts statements; marginal definitions, drawings, and chemical structures; concept and reasoning activities; interactive "microinquiry" boxes; disease cases; summary tables; self-test questions; and questions for thought and discussion, among others. Chapter sequence remains largely unchanged from the last edition, but detailed updates have been provided in accord with advanced understanding of microbial structures and functions, disease information and statistics, and the immune system. Purchase enables access to an online sixth section of the text on environmental and applied biology, newly developed for this ninth edition, as well as other electronic resources. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)