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Article Contents

ABSTRACT

1.INTRODUCTION - WHAT IS A METAL-POOR GALAXY

2.HOW ARE METALLICITIES MEASURED?

2.1.H II Regions

2.2.Planetary Nebulae

2.3.Photometry of Resolved Stellar Populations

2.4.Stellar Spectroscopy

2.5.Estimates From Spectroscopy and Photometry of Integrated Light

2.6.Othe Methods

3.WHAT CONTROLS THE METALLICITY OF A GALAXY?

3.1.Setllar Evolution and Nucleosynthesis

3.2.Star Formation History

3.3.Outflows and Inflows

3.4.Mergers and Interactions

3.5.Mixing

3.6.Chemical Evolution Models

4.THE GENERAL PROPERTIES OF METAL-POOR GALAXIES

4.1.Dwarf Irregular Galaxies

4.1.1.Chemical Abundances of Dwarf Irregular Galaxies

4.2.Dwarf Elliptical/Spheroidal Galaxies

4.2.1.Chemical Abundances of Local Group dE/dSph Galaxies

4.2.2.Abundances of dEs Outside the Local Group

4.3.Low Surface Brightness Galaxies

4.3.1.Chemical Abundances of LSBGs

4.4.Blue Compact and H II Galaxies

4.4.1.Morphology and Structure of BCGs

4.4.2.The Age of the Underlying Population

4.4.3.Ongoing Star Formation, Starburts and Star Clusters

4.4.4.The Wolf-Rayet Galaxies

4.4.5.Gas Contents and Dynamics of BCGs

4.4.6.Starburst Triggers in BCGs

4.4.7.The Chemical Abundances of BCGs

4.4.8.Abundance Ratios in BCGs

4.4.9.Summary of BCG Metallicities

4.5.Tidal Dwarfs