rat (redirected from brown rat)

rat (rt)

n.

Any of various long-tailed rodents of the genus Rattus and related genera, including certain strains used in scientific research and certain species that are vectors for various diseases.

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rat

small, furred mammal; members of the family Murinae (Old World rats) and the family Cricetinae (New World rats) both of the order Rodentia. They are omnivorous, nocturnal, do not hibernate and live commensally with humans. They have pointed snouts, a long, thin, almost hairless tail. Only some of the members of the rat and allied groups are listed below.

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rat bite fever

streptobacillusmoniliformis.

black rat

Old World rat with long tail and ears. Called also Rattus rattus.

brown rat

Old World rat with short tail and ears. Called also Rattus norvegicus.

rat flea

see leptopsylla segnis.

kangaroo rat

a solitary rodent with long legs with which it progresses in leaps like a kangaroo and uses its large tail as a balancer. Called also Dipodomys deserti.

rat leprosy

a chronic, largely cutaneous disease of rats caused by Mycobacterium lepraemurium and characterized by subcutaneous granuloma and similar involvement of superficial lymph nodes, containing large numbers of acid-fast organisms. The disease has little similarity to nor any relationship with human leprosy. See also feline leprosy.

Long-Evans rat

laboratory rat with brown or black head and shoulders.

musk rat

properly called muskrat and is really a water vole. Called also Ondatra zibethica.

pack rat

New World rat-like creature. Called also Neotoma spp., wood rat.

sand rat

see gerbil.

Sprague-Dawley rat

albino laboratory rat.

rat tooth, teeth

describes the type of points on surgical instruments with a single point on one side which interlocks with two points on the other side.

water rat

properly called water vole; in Australia, water rat is a native rodent Hydromys chrysogaster.

white rat

common laboratory rat.

Wistar rat

a white laboratory rat.

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rat

Infectious disease A rodent, genus Rattus, which is a vector and/or reservoir of disease–eg, Bunyaviridae, black plague, rat-bite fever Vox populi A dishonorable person. See Lab rat, Weasel.