Which NVSL laboratory discipline studies bacteria?

• A. Bacteriology
• B. Serology
• C. Virology
• D. Pathology

Answer: (A)

Bacteriology is the field that directly studies bacteria—their biology, identification, and classification, as well as how they cause disease. In NVSL and similar animal-health labs, bacteriology covers methods to culture and isolate bacteria, use Gram staining and biochemical tests to identify species, and perform antibiotic susceptibility testing to guide treatment. This focus on the bacteria themselves differentiates it from serology, which detects antibodies or antigens to infer infection but does not characterize the bacteria directly; virology, which studies viruses; and pathology, which looks at disease effects in tissues. So the discipline that studies bacteria is bacteriology.