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Of or pertaining to bacteria.

Inimical to bacteria; -- applied esp. to serum for protection against bacterial diseases.

A microscopic, bacterial organism (Bacillus anthracis), resembling transparent rods. [See Illust. under Bacillus.]

A bacterial resting cell, -- formerly considered a spore, but now known to occur even in endosporous bacteria. -- Ar`thro*spor"ic (#), Ar*thros"po*rous (#), a.

A bacterial vaccine.

The destruction or dissolution of bacterial cells. -- Bac*te`ri*o*lyt"ic (#), a.

A bacterial disease of silkworms, supposed to be due to eating contaminated mulberry leaves.

iple; as, the germ of civil liberty. Disease germ (Biol.), a name applied to certain tiny bacterial organisms or their spores, such as Anthrax bacillus and the Micrococcus of fowl cholera, which have been demonstrated to be the cause of certain diseases. See Germ theory (bellow). -- Germ cell (Biol.), the germ, egg, s…

to any agent which has a destructive action upon living germs, particularly bacteria, or bacterial germs, which are considered the cause of many infectious diseases. -- n.

Any agent detrimental to, or destructive of, the life of microbes or bacterial organisms.

ferment in causing or propagating certain infectious or contagious diseases; a pathogenic bacterial organism.

r germs in (an organic fluid or mixture), as by heat, so as to prevent the development of bacterial or other organisms.