TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Bacteria—Basic Concepts A1 - Ryan, Kenneth J. Y1 - 2017 N1 - T2 - Sherris Medical Microbiology, 7e AB - OverviewBacteria are the smallest and most versatile independently living cells. This chapter examines the structural, metabolic, and genetic features that contribute to the ubiquity and diversity of this large group of microorganisms. The discussion which follows focuses on the characteristics of the tiny sliver of the bacterial world which causes disease in humans. The goal is to provide the background and vocabulary fundamental to understanding how bacterial pathogens deploy their structural and metabolic products to confound the immune system and produce injury to the human hosts they invade. These mechanisms will then be explained in the 20 chapters that follow. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/11/12 UR - accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1148673285 ER -