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A virus that lives within a bacterium, replicating itself and eventually destroying the bacterial cell. Bacteriophages have been very helpful in the study of bacterial and molecular genetics. They are sometimes simply called phages.

The science and study of bacteria and their relation to medicine and to other areas such as agriculture (e.g., farm animals) and industry. Bacteria are single-celled microorganisms which can live as independent organisms or, dependently, as parasites. Among the better known bacteria are strep, staph, and the agents of tuberculosis and leprosy. Bacteriology is a part of microbiology which encompasses…

Capable of killing bacteria. Antibiotics, antiseptics, and disinfectants can all be bacteriocidal.

An abnormal and persistent fear of germs. Sufferers from bacteriaphobia experience undue anxiety even though they realize that most germs are not pathogens (disease-causing germs). To avoid germs, they may repeat cleaning rituals, such as washing their hands or face. “Bacteriaphobia” is derived from the Greek “bacterion” (staff) and “phobos” (fear). The Greek word for “staff” was…

A vaginal condition characterized by an abnormal vaginal discharge due to an overgrowth of normal bacteria in the vagina. Women with bacterial vaginosis also have fewer than the usual population of vaginal bacteria, called lactobacilli. Symptoms of bacterial vaginosis are vaginal discharge and sometimes a fishy odor. A microscopic sign of bacterial vaginosis is an unusual vaginal…

Longstanding bacterial infection of the prostate gland superimposed on a defect in the prostate. (The prostate is a small organ below the bladder which surrounds the urethra, the tube that carries urine down from the bladder.) The symptoms can include low back pain, discomfort in the perineum (the area between the anus and the genitalia), testicular pain and, if the…

Inflammation of the prostate gland of sudden (acute) onset due to bacterial infection. The symptoms include chills, fever, pain in the lower back and genital area, body aches, burning or painful urination, and the frequent and urgent need to urinate. The urinary tract is infected, as evidenced by the presence of the white blood cells and bacteria in the urine. Treatment…

This bacterial infection inside of the abdomen involves the inner lining tissue, the peritoneum. Bacterial peritonitis can be spontaneous, such as can occur in people with severe alcoholic liver disease, or be caused by bacteria contaminating the abdomen, such as from a knife or gunshot wound or as a complication of appendicitis. Bacterial peritonitis requires emergent antibiotic treatment, typically…

A laboratory creation involving an artificially constructed chromosome in which medium-sized segments of DNA (100,000 to 300,000 bases in length) that come from another species are cloned into bacteria. Once the foreign DNA has been cloned into the bacteria’s chromosome, many copies of it can be made (amplified) and sequenced. Bacterial artificial chromosome is abbreviated…

Of or pertaining to bacteria, as in a bacterial lung infection.