coccidium

[kok-sid-ee-uhm]

noun

Microbiology.

plural

coccidia 

1. any sporozoan of the order Coccidia, often parasitic in the digestive tracts of certain animals and a cause of coccidiosis.

Word History and Origins

Origin of coccidium¹

< New Latin Coccidium, originally a genus name; coccus, -idium

Example Sentences

This genus is distinguished from Coccidium by the fact that the sporocysts become dissolved up in the oocyst, thus leaving the 8 sporozoites unenclosed, recalling the condition in L�gerella.

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The generic name Coccidium was introduced by R. Leuckart in 1879, for the parasite of the rabbit.

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