spirillum

American  

[spahy-ril-uhm] / spaɪˈrɪl əm /

noun

Bacteriology.

plural

spirilla

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.

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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

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spirillum Scientific  

/ spī-rĭl′əm /

plural

spirilla

1. Any of various bacteria that are shaped like a spiral, such as the spirochete Treponema pallidum, which causes syphilis.

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Other Word Forms

• spirillar adjective

Etymology

Origin of spirillum

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

Compare meaning

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

• spirillum vs. spirochete

Example Sentences

That is a spirillum that lives in the blood of rats and mice.�

From Time Magazine Archive

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

From Time Magazine Archive

The mortality, the anatomical lesions, the course of the pyrexia, the leading clinical symptoms, are all widely distinct in the two affections; and, finally, no spirillum has been found in the blood in yellow fever.

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

On account of this developmental change, he doubted if the cholera organism should be ranked with bacilli; it is rather a transitional form between the bacillus and the spirillum.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 458, October 11, 1884 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