What are bacilli?
1 Answer
The term bacilli is plural for bacillus. These are bacteria that are shaped like rods.
Other shapes are cocci (round), spiral (cork-screw shaped) and some are square or rectangle shaped.
The names given to the bacteria often reflect what they look like under the microscope.
Many bacterial species exist simply as single cells, others associate in characteristic patterns: Neisseria form diploids (pairs),
Streptococcus form chains, and Staphylococcus group together in "bunch of grapes" clusters.
Staphylococcus aureus
Diseases caused by this are pimples, impetigo, boils (furuncles), cellulitis folliculitis, carbuncles, scalded skin syndrome, and abscesses, to life-threatening diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis, osteomyelitis, endocarditis, toxic shock syndrome (TSS), bacteremia, and sepsis.
(Wikipedia)
