The order of the defect group of a block has many arithmetical characterizations related to representation theory. It is the largest invariant factor of the Cartan matrix of the block, and occurs with multiplicity one. Also, the power of p dividing the index of the defect group of a block is the greatest common divisor of the powers of p dividing the dimensions of the simple modules in that block, and this coincides with the greatest common divisor of the powers of p dividing the degrees of the ordinary irreducible characters in that block. Other relationships between the defect group of a block and character theory include Brauer's result that if no conjugate of the p-part of a group element g is in the defect group of a given block, then each irreducible character in that block vanishes at g. This is one of many consequences of Brauer's second main theorem. The defect group of a block also has several characterizations in the more module-theoretic approach to block theory, building on the work of J. A. Green, which associates a p-subgroup known as the vertex to an indecomposable module, defined in terms of relative projectivity of the module. For example, the vertex of each indecomposable module in a block is contained (up to conjugacy) in the defect group of the block, and no proper subgroup of the defect group has that property. Brauer's first main theorem states that the number of blocks of a finite group that have a given p-subgroup as defect group is the same as the corresponding number for the normalizer in the group of that p-subgroup. The easiest block structure to analyse with non-trivial defect group is when the latter is cyclic. Then there are only finitely many isomorphism types of indecomposable modules in the block, and the structure of the block is by now well understood, by virtue of work of Brauer, E.C. Dade, J.A. Green and J.G. Thompson, among others. In all other cases, there are infinitely many isomorphism types of indecomposable modules in the block. Blocks whose defect groups are not cyclic can be divided into two types: tame and wild. The tame blocks (which only occur for the prime 2) have as a defect group a dihedral group, semidihedral group or (generalized) quaternion group, and their structure has been broadly determined in a series of papers by Karin Erdmann. The indecomposable modules