Bacillus

Bacillus /Ba·cil·lus/ (bah-sil´us) a genus of bacteria, including gram-positive, spore-forming bacteria; three species are potentially pathogenic.

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Bacillus an´thracis  the causative agent of anthrax.

Bacillus enteri´tidis  Salmonella enteritidis.

Bacillus mal´lei  Pseudomonas mallei.

Bacillus sub´tilis  a common saprophytic soil and water form, often occurring as a laboratory contaminant and occasionally in apparently causal relation to pathologic processes, such as conjunctivitis.

Bacillus wel´chii  Clostridium perfringens.

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bacillus /ba·cil·lus/ (bah-sil´us) pl. bacil´li   [L.]

1. an organism of the genus Bacillus.

2. any rod-shaped bacterium.

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Calmette-Guérin bacillus  bacille Calmette-Guérin.

coliform bacilli  gram-negative bacilli resembling Escherichia coli that are found in the intestinal tract; the term generally refers to the genera Citrobacter, Edwardsiella, Enterobacter, Escherichia, Klebsiella, and Serratia.

dysentery bacilli  gram-negative non–spore-forming rods causing dysentery in humans; see Shigella.

enteric bacillus  a bacillus belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae.

tubercle bacillus  Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

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Bacillus

n.

A genus of rod-shaped gram-positive bacteria capable of producing endospores.

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ba·cil·lus (b-sls)

n. pl. ba·cil·li (-sl)

1. Any of various rod-shaped, usually gram-positive aerobic bacteria of the genus Bacillus that often occur in chains and include Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax.

2. Any of various bacteria, especially a rod-shaped bacterium.

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Bacillus

A rod-shaped bacterium. One common type of dysentery is known as bacillary dysentery because it is caused by a bacillus.

Mentioned in: Cholera, Diphtheria, Dysentery

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Bacillus

a genus of bacteria that are gram-positive, aerobic, spore-forming rods. With the exception of B. anthracis and the occasional wound contamination and bovine mastitis caused by B. cereus, the organisms are largely saprophytic and do not cause disease. However, they may invade devitalized tissue. They do have importance in the area of food preservation.

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Bacillus actinoides

streptobacillusmoniliformis.

Bacillus aneurinolyticus, Bacillus thiaminolyticus

are thiaminase-producing bacteria which may proliferate in the rumen and contribute to the cerebral lesions in carbohydrate engorgement and polioencephalomalacia in cattle.

Bacillus anthracis

characterized by its capacity to form spores when exposed to the air and to survive for long periods in soil and other inert materials. Has a characteristic appearance with McFadyean's stain. Causes anthrax in all species.

Bacillus brevis

the source of tyrothricin.

Bacillus cereus

a species causing food poisoning, occasional cases of septicemia and bovine mastitis and abortion.

Bacillus circulans, Bacillus coagulans, Bacillus stearothermophilus

very heat-resistant bacteria which cause fermentation of cereals in canned meat foods. They cause souring but no gas production so that the can does not bulge. Called also flat sour. B. stearothermophilus spores are used to test efficacy of autoclaves.

Bacillus larvae

the cause of American foulbrood in honeybees.

Bacillus licheniformis

reported as a cause of abortion in cattle, sheep and pigs, and also isolated from suppurative lesions of horses and cattle.

Bacillus piliformis

the previous name of clostridiumpiliforme, the cause of tyzzer's disease.

Bacillus polymyxa (Bacillus aerosporus)

strains of this organism are the source of the antibiotic polymyxin.

Bacillus subtilis

a common saprophytic soil and water form, often occurring as a laboratory contaminant, and rarely, in apparently causal relation to pathological processes, such as conjunctivitis.

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bacillus

pl. bacilli [L.]

1. an organism of the genus Bacillus.

2. any rod-shaped bacterium.

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Battey bacillus

mycobacteriumintracellulare.

Calmette-Guérin bacillus

mycobacteriumbovis, rendered completely avirulent by cultivation over a long period on bile-glycerol-potato medium. See also bcg vaccine.

Friedländer's bacillus

klebsiellapneumoniae.

glanders bacillus

burkholderiamallei (previously Pseudomonas mallei).

Hansen's bacillus

mycobacteriumleprae.

tubercle bacillus

mycobacteriumtuberculosis.

typhoid bacillus

salmonellatyphi.