McNulty (103) and leading articles by Goodwin and Armstrong (51) and Rathbone et al. (137). Veterinary microbiologists have been favored with reviews on diseases produced by campylobacteria in animals. A decade apart, Clark (28) and Hoffer (67) reviewed bovine campylobacteriosis (bovine vibriosis) and the agent, Campylobacter fetus subsp. venerealis, that causes this disease. A detailed treatment of avian vibrionic hepatitis has been provided by Peckham (131). Comprehensive treatments of campylobacteria from the veterinary point of view are provided by Cottral (29) and Garcia et al. (44). For an appreciation of the taxonomic and nomenclatural changes that the genus has undergone, the reader is referred to descriptions of the campylobacteria by Smibert (157, 160). As indicated above, a sizable body of literature has accumulated on the genus Campylobacter over the last decade. The objective of this article is to review the recent advances with particular emphasis on the new developments in taxonomy and classification that are particularly relevant to the microbiologist in the clinical laboratory. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF CAMPYLOBACTERS The genus name Campylobacter was derived from the Greek word for curved rod. It was proposed by Sebald and Veron to include microaerophilic bacteria that were different from Vibrio cholerae and other vibrios in a number of respects (150). Campylobacteria are gram-negative bacteria