ACTINOMYCES

[ac.ti.no.my.ces] n, pl actinomyces [NL, genus name, fr. actin- + Gk myket-, mykes fungus; akin to Gk myxa mucus--more at mucus] (1882): any of a genus (Actinomyces) of filamentous or rod-shaped bacteria that includes usu. commensal and sometimes pathogenic forms inhabiting mucosal surfaces esp. of the oral cavity of warm-blooded vertebrates