See Also: pneumococcus(medicine)
pneumococcus(dictionary)
pneumococcus(encyclopedia)
Fraenkel's pneumococcus(medicine)
Pneumococcus genera(health)
Fraenkel-Weichselbaum pneumococcus(medicine)

pneumococcus (sh)




Spheroidal bacterium (Streptococcus pneumoniae) that causes human diseases including pneumonia, sinusitis, ear infection, and meningitis.

Usually occurring in the upper respiratory tract, this gram-positive (see gram stain) coccus is often found in a chain configuration and surrounded by a polysaccharide capsule. Pneumococci are separated into types depending on the specific capsular polysaccharide formed. Their disease-causing ability resides in the capsule, which delays or prevents their destruction by cells in the bloodstream that normally engulf foreign material.