Bacterial growth has four primary phases that are denoted by the letters a, b, c and d. The first phase, "a" is called the
lag phase. It is the period where the individual
bacteria are maturing and not yet able to divide. The second phase "b", is called the
log phase and is a period of
exponential growth. The third phase "c", is called the
stationary phase. This phase is reached as the bacteria begin to exhaust the resources that are available to them. The last phase, "d" is called the
death phase.
Bacterial growth can be suppressed with bacteriostats, without necessarily killing the bacteria.