Bacterial Morphology

Cards (65)

  • morphology refers to the shape and size of a bacteria
  • 0.25 - 1 micrometer in width and 1-3 micrometer in length
  • neisseria spp. and streptococcus pneumoniae
    diplococci
  • streptococcus spp.
    cocci in chain
  • micrococcus tetragena
    tetrads
  • micrococcus luteus
    sarcina
  • staphylococcus spp.
    cocci in cluster
  • found in ocean residue (African coast)
    thiomagarita namibienses
  • small and short bacillus ex. Haemophilus
    fingerprint pattern
  • large, square cut ends, spore forming bacillus
    ex. Bacillus anthracis

    arranged in chain
  • large, rounded ends, non spore forming bacillus
    ex. fusobacterium spp.

    arranged in chain
  • arrange in serpentine cord or crawling snake ex. mycobacterium tuberculosis
    slim, slender like bacillus
  • branching or filamentous bacilli ex. Nocardia spp.
  • Irregular baccili
    • club shaped
    • remembers X,Y,Z or Chinese characters
    • ex. corynebacterium diphtheriae
  • Curved or comma bacillI
    • Vibrio spp.
  • S or C shaped bacilli
    • resembles seagul wing
    • Helicobacter spp.
    • Arcobacter spp.
  • Spiral with two or more curves
    • quite rigid
    • ex: Spirilum minor
    • rat bite infection
  • Loosely twisted spiral
    • resembling stretch spiral
    • Borrelia spp.
    • Lyme disease
  • Tightly twisted spiral
    • corkscrew
    • ex: Treponema palladium
    • syphilis
  • Tightly twisted spiral with one or both ends bent into hook
    • interrogative symbol
    • Leptospira interrogans
    • Leptospirosis
  • Direct/Simple Stain
    • Crystal violet
    • Methylene blue
    • Malchite Green
  • Differential stain
    • contains two or more chromogens
  • Gram staining differentiates gram positive: violet from gram negative: red/pink
  • Acid fast staining differentiates AF organism: Red from Non AF organism: Blue/Green
  • Fluorochrome stain uses fluoresrescent dyes such as auramine or rhodamine or both
  • Pappenheim
    • Mycobacterium tuberculosis - Red
    • Mycobacterium lacticola - Blue
  • Baumgarten Stain
    • Mycobacterium tuberculosis - Blue
    • Mycobacterium leprae - Red
  • Stain for cell wall
    • Victoria blue dye - stains blue
  • Stains for Capule
    • HISS - Pale brown
    • TYLER -light violet
    • MUIR - light blue
    • GIN - unstained capsule
    • WADSWORTH - Capsule-Pink Bacteria - Blue
    • WELCH - pale violet
  • Stain for Granules
    • Loeffler Alkaline Methylene Blue - Red
    • ALBERT - Blue black
    • NEISSER - Dark blue
    • LINDERGAN - reddish brown
    • BURKES TECHNIQUE - modified gram staining technique
    • LJUBINSKY - dark violet
  • Stains for Bacterial Spores
    • FULTON SCHAFFER - Green
    • DORNER -Red
    • WIRTZ CONKLIN - Green
  • Stains for Flagella
    • Gray
    • Silver
    • Fisher conn
    • Leifson
  • Stains for Rikettsia
    • CASTAÑEDA - blue
    • MACHIAVELO - red
    • GIEMSA - blue
  • Stains for Chlamydia
    • GIMENEZ - red
    • MACHIAVELO - red
    • GIEMSA - purple
  • Stains for Mycoplasma
    • DIENES - blue
  • Stains for Bipolar Bodies (Yersinia pestis)
    • WAYSON - red
  • SIZE
    • PINPOINT - colonies less than 1mm
    • SMALL - slightly the same size of pinhead
    • MEDIUM - slightly larger than pinhead
    • LARGE - 6-8mm
  • Smooth - circular without interruption
  • Undulate - wavy edge
  • Rhizoid- crenated edge