Hi, and welcome to the basics in medical microbiology course. Here is a brief overview of the course which is divided into six sections. We will begin with the history of microbiology, both in a nutshell and then at length starting with the invention of the light microscope. Next, we will look at how the advent of the electron microscope brought the attention of scientists to the existence of two basic cell types the prokaryotes and eukaryotes. We will also study what are viruses at this point. We will then learn the details of microscopy and staining.

Following that we will look at the classification of microorganisms including nomenclature. We will end this scores by studying the growth and nutrition of microbes. At the end of this course, you will know how the study of microbes began, who the founding fathers of microbiology are, you will be able to tell the main differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, identify the parts of the light microscope and know how they function. You will know how to do gram staining, which is usually the first step in the identification of a bacteria and is a valuable diagnostic tool in both clinical and research setting. You will also know how to classify microorganisms based on certain unique characteristics they possess and know how to do the streak plate method a method used to obtain pure bacterial culture So, let's begin.