STAPHYLOCOCCUS


Meaning of STAPHYLOCOCCUS in English

A group of bacteria, familiarly known as Staph, that can > (and do) cause a multitude of diseases. The name comes from the Greek staphyle meaning a bunch of grapes + kokkos meaning berry, and that is exactly what Staph look like under the microscope, like a bunch of grape or little round berries. (In technical terms, these are gram-positive, facultative anaerobic, usually unencapsulated cocci). Staph can cause illness directly by infection or indirectly through products they make such as toxins responsible for food poisoning and toxic shock syndrome.

English dictionary of medicine.      Английский словарь медицины.