Medical Dictionary

Gärtner's bacillus

noun Gärt·ner's bacillus \ˈgert-nərz-\

Medical Definition of GÄRTNER'S BACILLUS

:  a motile bacterium of the genus Salmonella (S. enteritidis) that causes enteritis and is widely distributed in the intestinal tracts of mammals including humans

Biographical Note for GäRTNER'S BACILLUS

Gärtner, August Anton Hieronymus (1848–1934), German hygienist and bacteriologist. In 1888 Gärtner described a widely distributed bacterium that is the cause of epidemic diarrheal disease in rodents and gastroenteritis in humans. Although Gärtner originally placed the species in the genus Bacillus, it is now classified in the genus Salmonella (S. enteritidis) and is known by the vernacular name of Gärtner's bacillus.

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