SECTION 1 THE ADVERSARIES - PATHOGENS 1. Pathogens as parasites 2. The bacteria 3. The viruses 4. The fungi 5. The protozoa 6. The helminths 7. The arthropods 8. Prions 9. The host-parasite relationship SECTION 2 THE ADVERSARIES - HOST DEFENCES 10. The innate defences of the body 11. Adaptive immune responses bring specificity 12. Cooperation leads to effective immune responses SECTION 3 THE CONFLICTS 13. Background to the infectious diseases 14. Entry, exit and transmission 15. Immune defences in action 16. Spread and replication 17. Parasite survival strategies and persistent infections 18. Pathologic consequences of infection SECTION 4 CLINICAL MANIFESTATION AND DIAGNOSIS OF INFECTIONS BY BODY SYSTEM 19. Upper respiratory tract infections 20. Lower respiratory tract infections 21. Urinary tract infections 22. Sexually transmitted infections 23. Gastrointestinal tract infections 24. Obstetric and perinatal infections 25. Central nervous system infections 26. Infections of the eye 27. Infections of the skin, soft tissue, muscle and associated systems 28. Vector-borne infections 29. Multisystem zoonoses 30. Fever of unknown origin 31. Infections in the compromised host SECTION 5 DIAGNOSIS AND CONTROL 32. Diagnosis of infection and assessment of host defence mechanisms 33. Epidemiology and control of infectious diseases 34. Attacking the enemy: antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy 35. Protecting the host: vaccination 36. Specific and nonspecificimmunotherapy 37. Infection control Index