klebs-loeffler bacillus
Noun A specific, rod-shaped bacterium (Corynebacterium diphtheriae) that is the causative agent of the infectious disease diphtheria. The name is historical, derived from the scientists Edwin Klebs and Friedrich Loeffler, who identified it.
This is a highly specialized medical and microbiological term. It is used in historical, scientific, and medical contexts to refer to the diphtheria bacterium, often to acknowledge its discoverers or in formal descriptions. * The Klebs-Loeffler bacillus produces a potent toxin that affects the heart and nervous system. * Identification of the Klebs-Loeffler bacillus in a throat culture confirms a diagnosis of diphtheria.
- The term is often used in historical accounts of bacteriology and the development of vaccines.
- Loeffler's cultivation of the Klebs-Loeffler bacillus was a crucial step in proving it caused the disease.
- Corynebacterium diphtheriae: The modern, formal taxonomic name for the bacterium, which has largely replaced "Klebs-Loeffler bacillus" in current scientific literature.
- Diphtheria bacillus: A more general, descriptive synonym.
- KLB: An occasional abbreviation used in older medical notes.
- (modern synonym)
- Diphtheria bacillus
This term refers exclusively to the bacterial pathogen for diphtheria. It is not a general term for any bacterium and carries no other meanings. Its usage underscores the link between a specific microbe and the disease it causes.
- a species of bacterium that causes diphtheria