Computers in bacteriology.

Numerical methods are now widely used in the classification of bacteria, and they are also being explored in the field of identification. Identification is the major interest for clinical work, but it should be emphasized that good taxonomies are a prerequisite for satisfactory schemes of identification or diagnosis. Much remains to be done in the taxonomy of bacteria, and for this reason a brief summary of numerical methods of classification will be given before considering diagnosis. First, however, some comments will be made on the collection of laboratory data.