Factors Limiting Bacterial Growth

Simple assumptions have led to equations by which the latent period in multiplication and the bacterial numbers expected at any time during the phase of rapid growth may be predicted. Experimental data obtained under rather diverse conditions have given satisfactory agreement with calculated values. Since the mathematical expressions contain no arbitrary constants, more than accidental significance must be attached to this agreement. The hypotheses set forth appear completely to describe the early development of Bacterium coli and Bacterium dysenteriae in broth, without postulating differences other than size among individual cells, or cells obtained under different conditions.