Bedside consultations and battlefield microbiology

Clinical microbiologists are unique laboratorians whose professional specialty transcends the borders of medicine and infectious diseases. While they are mainly laboratory oriented, because of the need for "on the spot" diagnosis of infectious complications in critically ill patients, clinical microbiologists should be able to provide hands-on consultative services from the bedside to the laboratory. Dynamic grasp of microbial subtleties, visualized in stained smears or other preparations, allows either definitive or presumptive diagnosis. When followed by traditional methods, these are the underpinnings for providing "battlefield microbiology".