R.N. Gruneberg – författare

A practising clinician is required to use knowledge from many differ­ ent fields. It is unrealistic to expect him to be master of more than a few. In reality, clinicians acquire a smattering of information on most relevant subjects, and learn which texts provide the detailed informa­ tion which is occasionally required on more highly specialized matters. In my professional contacts with clinicians and medical students it has become evident that they often lack the simple frame­ work of microbiological knowledge necessary to guide their actions. This is because standard textbooks and learned treatises alike are con­ cerned with imparting a body of information rather than with present­ ing what the doctor needs to know in order to manage his patients. This volume is an attempt to help clinicians in their everyday practice. To that end I have kept it short and have not dwelt at length even on those topics which especially interest me. No attempt has been made to write a textbook: many of these already exist. A few refer­ ences are given to major reviews and to sources justifying some of the more forthright statements. The subject of medical microbiology is broad and involved. I have therefore seen it as my task to simplify the presentation of the material, being very selective with regard to content and giving my own views on matters of clinical significance.

A practising clinician is required to use knowledge from many differ­ ent fields. It is unrealistic to expect him to be master of more than a few. In reality, clinicians acquire a smattering of information on most relevant subjects, and learn which texts provide the detailed informa­ tion which is occasionally required on more highly specialized matters. In my professional contacts with clinicians and medical students it has become evident that they often lack the simple frame­ work of microbiological knowledge necessary to guide their actions. This is because standard textbooks and learned treatises alike are con­ cerned with imparting a body of information rather than with present­ ing what the doctor needs to know in order to manage his patients. This volume is an attempt to help clinicians in their everyday practice. To that end I have kept it short and have not dwelt at length even on those topics which especially interest me. No attempt has been made to write a textbook: many of these already exist. A few refer­ ences are given to major reviews and to sources justifying some of the more forthright statements. The subject of medical microbiology is broad and involved. I have therefore seen it as my task to simplify the presentation of the material, being very selective with regard to content and giving my own views on matters of clinical significance.

The purpose of this book is to provide reviews of various antibiotic topics which will be of interest to practising clinicians and to microbiologists. It is hoped that enough references have been provided to enable the enthusiast to immerse himself in the source literature. No attempt has been made to cover the whole field, which is well catered for in the numerous works on the subject. Rather, the intention has been to select a number of topics in which there has been a great deal of change in recent years, and to ask an appropriate authority to review the subject. Since I chose the topics, it may be supposed, quite correctly, that I have identified subjects in which I felt myself to require some postgraduate education. The process was something like the well known radio programme in which a castaway is allowed to select a number of gramophone records to take with him to a desert island. I hope that readers will share my interest in the contributions from a number of distinguished contributors to the field of antibiotic chemotherapeutic research. Although I have had the privilege of editing this volume it will be understood that the views expressed by the authors are their own and have not been the subject of editorial review. I am grateful to all the collaborators in this volume, and to the publishers, MTP Press, for their help, and for asking me to undertake the task. R. N.