Developer site: The content shown here is test data.

MyEClinic
MyEClinic
Health Dictionary AI Health Chat Find an Online Doctor
A serene Zen garden with raked sand and smooth stones, symbolising clarity and calm

Health Dictionary

Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.

Back to skin conditions

Bacillus (shape)

Introduction

Bacteria display a large diversity of cell morphologies and arrangements

Although Bacillus, capitalized and italicized, specifically refers to the genus, the word bacillus may also be used to describe any rod-shaped bacterium, and in this sense, bacilli are found in many different taxonomic groups of bacteria.

It should be noted that the cell morphology term bacillus does not necessarily indicate Gram-positive staining, as E. coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria.

Enterobacteriaceae is also Gram-negative, and rod-shaped.[1]

Bacillus are usually solitary, but can combine to form diplobacilli, streptobacilli, and palisades.[2]

MacConkey agar can be used to distinguish among Gram negative bacilli.[3]

References

  1. ↑ “Dorlands Medical Dictionary:Enterobacteriaceae”.
  2. ↑ CHAPTER 4 FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY OF PROKARYOTIC AND EUKARYOTIC CELLS
  3. ↑ “Gram Negative Bacilli”.

Template:Bacteria

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]