The Second Edition of Encounters in Microbiology, now introduced by renowned author and educator Jeffrey Pommerville, engages readers with 15 exciting medical mysteries pulled from Discover Magazine's "Vital Signs." In each account emergency room physicians are in a race against time to diagnose the life-threatening microbial diseases facing their patients. These medical detectives need all of their experience, intuition, and a few critical observations to identify the puzzling illnesses.