| eye infections, bacterial | Infections in the inner or external eye caused by microorganisms belonging to several families of bacteria. Some of the more common genera found are haemophilus, neisseria, staphylococcus, streptococcus, and chlamydia. (12 Dec 1998) |
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| fibrous bacterial viruses | Deoxyribonucleoproteins that "infect" and replicate in Gram-negative bacteria having sex pili and that, unlike bacteriophage, are released from infected bacteria without damage to the cell; they seem to be of two kinds, one of which has a specificity for F pili and the other for I pili. Synonym: fibrous bacterial viruses. (05 Mar 2000) |
| filamentous bacterial viruses | Deoxyribonucleoproteins that "infect" and replicate in Gram-negative bacteria having sex pili and that, unlike bacteriophage, are released from infected bacteria without damage to the cell; they seem to be of two kinds, one of which has a specificity for F pili and the other for I pili. Synonym: fibrous bacterial viruses. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fimbriae, bacterial | Thin, hairlike appendages, 1 to 20 microns in length and often occurring in large numbers, present on the cells of gram-negative bacteria, particularly enterobacteriaceae and neisseria. Unlike flagella, they do not possess motility, but being protein (pilin) in nature, they possess antigenic and haemagglutinating properties. They are of medical importance because some fimbriae mediate the attachment of bacteria to cells via adhesins (adhesins, bacterial). Bacterial fimbriae refer to common pili, to be distinguished from the preferred use of "pili", which is confined to sex pili (pili, sex). (12 Dec 1998) |
| luminescence, bacterial | The emission of light by bacteria. It is applied to studies on bacterial viability, metabolism, genetics, adhesiveness, and other physiological properties. (12 Dec 1998) |