Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Nearby Words

rickettsiae

 - 5 dictionary results
Bird Droppings a Problem?
No more bird problems Free Expert Help (800) 503-5444
www.birdbarrier.com
Rickettsial
Breaking News, Expert Tips, Member Support, Treatment Options & More
www.everydayhealth.com

rick⋅ett⋅si⋅a

  [ri-ket-see-uh]
Use rickettsiae in a Sentence
–noun, plural -si⋅ae  [-see-ee] , -si⋅as  [-see-uhz] .
1. any member of the genus Rickettsia, comprising rod-shaped to coccoid microorganisms that resemble bacteria but can be as small as a large virus and reproduce only inside a living cell, parasitic in fleas, ticks, lice, and mites and transmitted by bite to vertebrate hosts, including humans, causing such severe diseases as typhus and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
2. any rickettsia or rickettsialike microorganism of the orders Rickettsiales and Chlamydiales.
Origin:
1915–20; < NL, after Howard T. Ricketts (1871–1910), U.S. pathologist; see -ia

Related forms:
rick⋅ett⋅si⋅al, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To rickettsiae
Bird Droppings a Problem?
No more bird problems Free Expert Help (800) 503-5444
www.birdbarrier.com
Rickettsial
Breaking News, Expert Tips, Member Support, Treatment Options & More
www.everydayhealth.com
rick·ett·si·a   (rĭ-kět'sē-ə)   
n.   pl. rick·ett·si·ae (-sē-ē')
Any of various bacteria of the genus Rickettsia, carried as parasites by many ticks, fleas, and lice, that cause diseases such as typhus, scrub typhus, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever in humans.

[New Latin Rickettsia, genus name, after Howard Taylor Ricketts (1871-1910), American pathologist.]
rick·ett'si·al adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

rickettsia 
parasitic organism, 1919, named 1916 in Mod.L. by H. da Rocha-Lima in honor of U.S. pathologist H.T. Ricketts (1871-1910), who first identified it in 1909 and died of typhus as a result of his contact with it. The bacteria causes typhus and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, but is unrelated by pathology or etymology to rickets (q.v.), which is the result of vitamin D deficiency.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: rick·ett·sia
Pronunciation: ri-'ket-sE-&
Function: noun
1 capitalized : the type genus of the familyRickettsiaceae comprising rod-shaped, coccoid, or diplococcus-shaped often pleomorphic bacteria that live intracellularly in biting arthropods (as lice or ticks) and when transmitted to humans by thebite of an arthropod host cause a number of serious diseases (as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and typhus)
2 plural rick·ett·sias or rick·ett·si·ae /-"E/ also rick·ett·sia : any bacterium of the order Rickettsiales and especially of the familyRickettsiaceae
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Medical Dictionary

Rickettsia Rick·ett·si·a (rĭ-kět'sē-ə)
n.
A genus of gram-negative bacteria that are carried as parasites by many ticks, fleas, and lice and cause diseases such as typhus, scrub typhus, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see rickettsiae on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way