
Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of
biology
Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their anatomy, physical structure, Biochemistry, chemical processes, Molecular biology, molecular interactions, Physiology, physiological mechanisms, Development ...

that studies the
morphology
Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to:
Disciplines
*Morphology (archaeology)
In archaeology, morphology is the study of the shape of Artifact (archaeology), artefacts and ecofacts.
Morphology is a major consid ...
,
ecology
Ecology (from el, οἶκος, "house" and el, -λογία, label=none, "study of") is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms
In biol ...
,
genetics
Genetics is a branch of biology
Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their anatomy, physical structure, Biochemistry, chemical processes, Molecular biology, molecular interactions, Physiology, ...

and
biochemistry
Biochemistry or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical process
In a scientific
Science () is a systematic enterprise that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and pr ...

of
bacteria
Bacteria (; common noun bacteria, singular bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typ ...

as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of
microbiology
Microbiology (from Greek#REDIRECT Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece
Greece ( el, Ελλάδα, , ), officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country located in Southeast Europe. Its population is appro ...

involves the identification, classification, and characterization of bacterial species. Because of the similarity of thinking and working with
microorganisms
A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism
In biology
Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their anatomy, physical structure, Biochemistry, chemical processes ...
other than bacteria, such as
protozoa
Protozoa (singular protozoon or protozoan, plural protozoa or protozoans) is an informal term for a group of single-celled eukaryote
Eukaryotes () are organism
In biology, an organism () is any organic, life, living system that ...

,
fungi
A fungus (plural
The plural (sometimes abbreviated
An abbreviation (from Latin ''brevis'', meaning ''short'') is a shortened form of a word or phrase, by any method. It may consist of a group of letters, or words taken from the full ...

, and
virus
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent
In biology
Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their anatomy, physical structure, Biochemistry, chemical processes, Molecular biology, molecu ...

es, there has been a tendency for the field of bacteriology to extend as microbiology.
The terms were formerly often used interchangeably.
However, bacteriology can be classified as a distinct science.
Introduction
Bacteriology is the study of bacteria and their relation to medicine. Bacteriology evolved from physicians needing to apply the
germ theory
The germ theory of disease is the currently accepted scientific theory
A scientific theory is an explanation of an aspect of the that has been and verified in accordance with the , using accepted of , measurement, and evaluation of results. ...
to test the concerns relating to the spoilage of foods and wines in the 19th century. Identification and characterizing of bacteria being associated to diseases led to advances in
pathogenic bacteriology.
Koch's postulates
200px, Robert Hermann Koch (11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician who developed Koch's postulates.
Koch's postulates () played a role into identifying the relationships between bacteria and specific diseases. Since then, bacteriology has had many successful advances like effective vaccines, for example,
diphtheria toxoid and
tetanus toxoid
Tetanus vaccine, also known as tetanus toxoid (TT), is a toxoid
A toxoid is an inactivated toxin
A toxin is a harmful substance produced within living cells or organisms; synthetic toxicants created by artificial processes are thus exclud ...
. There have also been some vaccines that were not as effective and have side effects for example,
typhoid vaccine
Typhoid vaccines are vaccine
A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease. A vaccine typically contains an agent that resembles a disease-causing microorganism and is often ...
. Bacteriology has also provided discovery of antibiotics.
History
The discovery of the connection of microorganisms to disease can be dated back to the nineteenth century, when German physician
Robert Koch
Heinrich Hermann Robert Koch (; ; 11 December 1843 – 27 May 1910) was a German physician and microbiologist. As the discoverer of the specific causative agents of deadly infectious diseases including tuberculosis, cholera (though the Vibrio c ...

introduced the science of microorganisms to the medical field. He identified bacteria as the cause of infectious diseases and process of fermentation in diseases. French scientist
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, fermentation, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization. His research in chemi ...

developed techniques to produce vaccines. Both Koch and Pasteur played a role in improving antisepsis in medical treatment. This had an enormous positive effect on public health and gave a better understanding of the body and diseases. In 1870-1885 the modern methods of bacteriology technique were introduced by the use of stains and by the method of separating mixtures of organisms on plates of nutrient media. Between 1880 and 1881 Pasteur produced two successful vaccinations for animals against diseases caused by bacteria and it was successful. The importance of bacteria was recognized as it led to a study of disease prevention and treatment of diseases by vaccines. Bacteriology has developed and can be studied in
agriculture
Agriculture is the science, art and practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary
Image:Family watching television 1958.jpg, Exercise trends, Increases in sedentary behaviors su ...

,
marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of the biology of marine life
Marine life, sea life, or ocean life is the plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic
Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to ...
,
water pollution
Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of water bodies
( Lysefjord) in Norway
Norway ( nb, ; nn, ; se, Norga; smj, Vuodna; sma, Nöörje), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

, bacterial genetics and
biotechnology
Biotechnology is a broad area of biology
Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their anatomy, physical structure, Biochemistry, chemical processes, Molecular biology, molecular interactions, Phy ...

.
[The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Bacteriology.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 7 Sept. 2010, www.britannica.com/science/bacteriology. Retrieved 22 November 2017]
See more for
*
Bacteria
Bacteria (; common noun bacteria, singular bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typ ...

*
Biology
Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their anatomy, physical structure, Biochemistry, chemical processes, Molecular biology, molecular interactions, Physiology, physiological mechanisms, Development ...

**
Microbiology
Microbiology (from Greek#REDIRECT Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece
Greece ( el, Ελλάδα, , ), officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country located in Southeast Europe. Its population is appro ...

References
Further reading
*
{{Authority control
1670s in science
1680s in science
1670s in the Dutch Republic
1680s in the Dutch Republic
Biology and natural history in the Dutch Republic
Dutch inventions