mycoplasma

my·co·plas·ma

 (mī′kō-plăz′mə)

n.

Any of various extremely small bacteria of the genus Mycoplasma that lack cell walls, are usually nonmotile, and are often pathogenic or parasitic in mammals.

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[New Latin genus name : myco- + plasma.]

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my′co·plas′mal adj.

mycoplasma

(ˌmaɪkəʊˈplæzmə)

n

(Microbiology) any prokaryotic microorganism of the genus Mycoplasma, some species of which cause disease (mycoplasmosis) in animals and humans

my•co•plas•ma

(ˌmaɪ koʊˈplæz mə)

n., pl. -mas.

any of a group of very small microorganisms without cell walls, of the prokaryote class Mollicutes, that are a common cause of pneumonia and urinary tract infections.

[1955–60; < New Latin (1929), a genus; see myco-, plasma]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

mycoplasma - any of a group of small parasitic bacteria that lack cell walls and can survive without oxygen; can cause pneumonia and urinary tract infection eubacteria, eubacterium, true bacteria - a large group of bacteria having rigid cell walls; motile types have flagella genus Mycoplasma - type and sole genus of the family Mycoplasmataceae pleuropneumonialike organism, PPLO - a mycoplasma resistant to antibiotics that causes a kind of pneumonia in humans