Canadian Medical Guide > Organisms > Bacteria > Endospore-Forming Bacteria > Gram-Positive Endospore-Forming Bacteria > Clostridium Terms and Definitions

Clostridium

Medical Definition:	A genus of motile or nonmotile gram-positive bacteria of the family Clostridiaceae. Many species have been identified with some being pathogenic. They occur in water, soil, and in the intestinal tract of humans and lower animals.
Guide Notes:	GEN or unspecified; prefer specifics; infection = CLOSTRIDIUM INFECTIONS or its specifics

Clostridium Categories.

	Clostridium botulinum - The etiologic agent of BOTULISM in man, wild ducks, and other waterfowl. It is also responsible for certain forms of forage poisoning in horses and cattle. The bacterium produces a powerful exotoxin that is resistant to proteolytic digestion.
	Clostridium difficile - A common inhabitant of the colon flora in human infants and sometimes in adults. It produces a toxin that causes pseudomembranous enterocolitis (ENTEROCOLITIS, PSEUDOMEMBRANOUS) in patients receiving antibiotic therapy.
	Clostridium perfringens - The most common etiologic agent of GAS GANGRENE. It is differentiable into several distinct types based on the distribution of twelve different toxins.
	Clostridium tetani - The cause of TETANUS in humans and domestic animals. It is a common inhabitant of human and horse intestines as well as soil. Two components make up its potent exotoxin activity, a neurotoxin and a hemolytic toxin.

Clostridium Medical Definitions and Terms

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