STAPHYLOCOCCUS (staphylococci)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: staphylococci   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does staphylococcus mean? 

• STAPHYLOCOCCUS (noun)
  The noun STAPHYLOCOCCUS has 1 sense:

1. spherical Gram-positive parasitic bacteria that tend to form irregular colonies; some cause boils or septicemia or infections

  Familiarity information: STAPHYLOCOCCUS used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• STAPHYLOCOCCUS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Spherical Gram-positive parasitic bacteria that tend to form irregular colonies; some cause boils or septicemia or infections

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

staph; staphylococci; staphylococcus

Hypernyms ("staphylococcus" is a kind of...):

cocci; coccus (any spherical or nearly spherical bacteria)

Holonyms ("staphylococcus" is a member of...):

genus Staphylococcus (includes many pathogenic species)

Derivation:

staphylococcal (of or relating to the staphylococcus bacteria)

 Context examples 

Staphylococcus infections cause tens of thousands of deaths worldwide each year.

(Study finds probiotic Bacillus eliminates Staphylococcus bacteria, National Institutes of Health)

EXAMPLE(S): streptococcus pneumoniae, staphylococcus aureus.

(Performed Clinical Result Inactive Comment, NCI Thesaurus/BRIDG)

An enzyme that brings about the hydrolysis of a beta-lactam (as penicillin to penicilloic acid); found in most staphylococcus strains that are naturally resistant to penicillin.

(Beta-Lactamase, NCI Thesaurus)

An antibiotic similar to flucloxacillin used in resistant staphylococci infections.

(Oxacillin Sodium, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

A skin condition that is characterized by recurring furuncles, lesions primarily caused by staphylococcus aureus infection of the hair follicles and surrounding skin.

(Furunculosis, NCI Thesaurus)

With excellent activity against gram-positive staphylococci and streptococci, it is primarily used for treatment of primary and secondary skin disorders, nasal infections, and wound healing.

(Mupirocin, NCI Thesaurus)

Methicillin sodium is active against beta-lactamase producing staphylococci.

(Methicillin Sodium, NCI Thesaurus)

Fidaxomicin appears to be active against pathogenic Gram-positive bacteria, such as clostridia, enterococci, and staphylococci, but does not appear to be active against other beneficial intestinal bacteria.

(Fidaxomicin, NCI Thesaurus)