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Bacterial cells are about one-tenth the size of eukaryotic cells and are typically 0.5–5.0 micrometres in length. However, a few species are visible to the unaided eye—for example, Thiomargarita namibiensis is up to half a millimetre long, [ 34 ] Epulopiscium fishelsoni reaches 0.7 mm, [ 35 ] and Thiomargarita magnifica can reach even 2 cm ...
Spiral bacteria are another major bacterial cell morphology. [2] [30] [31] [32] Spiral bacteria can be sub-classified as spirilla, spirochetes, or vibrios based on the number of twists per cell, cell thickness, cell flexibility, and motility. [33] Bacteria are known to evolve specific traits to survive in their ideal environment. [34]
Bacteria have an enclosing cell wall, which provides strength and rigidity to their cells. They reproduce by binary fission or sometimes by budding, but do not undergo meiotic sexual reproduction. However, many bacterial species can transfer DNA between individual cells by a horizontal gene transfer process referred to as natural transformation ...
Pathogenic bacteria. Pathogenic bacteria are bacteria that can cause disease. [ 1 ] This article focuses on the bacteria that are pathogenic to humans. Most species of bacteria are harmless and are often beneficial but others can cause infectious diseases. The number of these pathogenic species in humans is estimated to be fewer than a hundred ...
Binomial name. Mycobacterium leprae. Hansen, 1874. Mycobacterium leprae (also known as the leprosy bacillus or Hansen's bacillus) is one [ a ] of the two species of bacteria that cause Hansen's disease (leprosy), [ 1 ] a chronic but curable infectious disease that damages the peripheral nerves and targets the skin, eyes, nose, and muscles. [ 2 ]
Medical microbiology. A microbiologist examining cultures under a dissecting microscope. Medical microbiology, the large subset of microbiology that is applied to medicine, is a branch of medical science concerned with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. In addition, this field of science studies various clinical ...
Immune system. The immune system is a network of biological systems that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to parasitic worms, as well as cancer cells and objects such as wood splinters, distinguishing them from the organism's own healthy tissue.
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all forms of life. Every cell consists of cytoplasm enclosed within a membrane; many cells contain organelles, each with a specific function. The term comes from the Latin word cellula meaning 'small room'. Most cells are only visible under a microscope.