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gramicidin

(Encyclopedia)gramicidin grămˌĭsīdˈən [key], antibiotic obtained from the bacterial species Bacillus brevis, which is found in soil. Gramicidin is particularly effective against gram-positive bacteria (see Gr...

gingivitis

(Encyclopedia)gingivitis jĭnˌjəvīˈtĭs [key], inflammation of the gums. It may be acute, subacute, chronic, or recurrent. The gums usually become red, swollen, and spongy, and bleed easily. Chronic gingivitis ...

Kinorhyncha

(Encyclopedia)Kinorhyncha kĭnˌərĭngˈkə [key], phylum containing about 150 species of tiny pseudocoelomate worms, it is widely distributed in marine sediments. The kinorhynch body is divided into 13 segments, ...

typhus

(Encyclopedia)typhus, any of a group of infectious diseases caused by microorganisms classified between bacteria and viruses, known as rickettsias. Typhus diseases are characterized by high fever and an early onset...

prostatitis

(Encyclopedia)prostatitis prŏsˌtətīˈtĭs [key], inflammation of the prostate gland. Acute prostatitis is usually a result of infection in the urinary tract or infection carried by the blood; in many cases the ...

food poisoning

(Encyclopedia)food poisoning, acute illness following the eating of foods contaminated by bacteria, bacterial toxins, natural poisons, or harmful chemical substances. It was once customary to classify all such illn...

glanders

(Encyclopedia)glanders, highly contagious disease of horses, mules, and donkeys, caused by the bacterium Actinobacillus mallei. Although it can be transmitted to humans, it is limited almost exclusively to handlers...

pasteurization

(Encyclopedia)pasteurization păsˌcho͝orĭzāˈshən, –rīzāˈshən [key], partial sterilization of liquids such as milk, orange juice, wine, and beer, as well as cheese, to destroy disease-causing and other u...

Lwoff, André

(Encyclopedia)Lwoff, André äNdrāˈ ləwôfˈ [key], 1902–94, French microbiologist, b. Ainay-le-Château, Allier dept., central France, of Russian-Polish origin. He was educated in France and in 1925 began a l...

cephalosporin

(Encyclopedia)cephalosporin sĕfˌəlōspôrˈĭn [key], any of a group of more than 20 antibiotics derived from species of fungi of the genus Cephalosporium and closely related chemically to penicillin. Cephalospo...