nocardia

[noh-kahr-dee-uh]

noun Bacteriology.

any of several filamentous or rod-shaped, aerobic bacteria of the genus Nocardia, certain species of which are pathogenic for humans and other animals.

Origin of nocardia

1905–10; < New Latin; after Edmond I.É. Nocard (1850–1903), French biologist; see -ia

Related formsno·car·di·al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

nocardia in Medicine

Nocardia

[nō-kär′dē-ə]

n.

A genus of aerobic, gram-positive, primarily saprophytic actinomycetes that are transitional between bacteria and fungi and that form filaments that fragment to single nonmotile microorganisms, including some species that may be pathogenic to humans and other animals.