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spirillum

American  
[spahy-ril-uhm] / spaɪˈrɪl əm /

noun

Bacteriology.
  • spirilla
    plural
  1. any of several spirally twisted, aerobic bacteria of the genus Spirillum, certain species of which are pathogenic for humans.

  2. any of various similar microorganisms.


spirillum British  
/ spaɪˈrɪləm /

noun

  1. any bacterium having a curved or spirally twisted rodlike body Compare coccus bacillus

  2. any bacterium of the genus Spirillum, such as S. minus, which causes ratbite fever

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

spirillum Scientific  
/ spī-rĭləm /
  • spirilla
    plural
  1. Any of various bacteria that are shaped like a spiral, such as the spirochete Treponema pallidum, which causes syphilis.


Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Etymology

Origin of spirillum

1870–75; < New Latin, equivalent to Latin spīr ( a ) ( see spire 2) + -illum diminutive suffix

Compare meaning

How does spirillum compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

One is a wriggly spirillum, the other a cigar-shaped bacillus.

From Time Magazine Archive

In typhus there is no characteristic spirillum, and the lesions which are truly characteristic of relapsing fever are totally wanting.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

This spiro-bacterium was first observed in relapsing fever by Obermeier7 in 1873, and has since been identified as a spirillum or spiroechete.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

DEFINITION.—Relapsing fever is an epidemic contagious disease, the specific cause of which is not certainly known, although a peculiar spirillum appears to be constantly present in the blood.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

Then, with his assistant, he put on his white robes, mask, gloves and other precautions for asepsis, setting out the apparatus for the intravenous administration of the drug that would kill the spirillum.

From The Romance of Elaine Sequel to "Exploits of Elaine" by Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin) Reeve

The photographs included cells containing anthrax, typhoid and tubercle bacilli, the spirilla of relapsing fever, specimens from cases of anthrax.

From Alcohol: A Dangerous and Unnecessary Medicine, How and Why What Medical Writers Say by Martha Meir Allen

As early as 1873, spirilla were demonstrated in relapsing fever.

From The Evolution of Modern Medicine A Series of Lectures Delivered at Yale University on the Silliman Foundation in April, 1913 by William Osler

Examination of the blood prior to the invasion does not discover any spirilla.

From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various

From carious teeth may be isolated streptothrix, leptothrix, spirilla and fusiform bacilli.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 4 "Diameter" to "Dinarchus" by Various

They consist of cells, single or grouped, which when spherical are called cocci, when rod-shaped, bacilli, when spiral, spirilla.

From Essays In Pastoral Medicine by Austin ?Malley

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