mycobacterium
(maɪkəʊbækˈtɪərɪəm)
[mod.L. (Lehmann & Neumann Atlas und Grundriss der Bakteriologie (1896) II. 108), f. myco- + bacterium.]
A saprophytic or parasitic bacterium of the genus so called, which includes those causing tuberculosis, leprosy, and other diseases in man and other animals; also, a bacterium of the family Mycobacteriaceæ.
| 1909 E. R. Stitt Pract. Bacteriol. vii. 66 (heading) Study and identification of bacteria. Mycobacteria and corynebacteria. 1949 H. W. Florey et al. Antibiotics I. iv. 211 The sensitivity to antibiotics of the slow-growing mycobacteria, notably various strains of the tubercle bacillus, has been studied. 1962 Lancet 1 Dec. 1153/1 Disease resembling tuberculosis..may be produced by mycobacteria other than tubercle bacilli. 1973 R. G. Krueger et al. Introd. Microbiol. iii. 62/2 Many types of mycobacteria occur as free-living organisms in soil, water, and dairy products... Some mycobacteria are parasites of animals in which they may cause disease, including tuberculosis. |