klebsiella

kleb·si·el·la

noun \ˌkleb-zē-ˈe-lə\

Definition of KLEBSIELLA

: any of a genus (Klebsiella) of nonmotile enterobacteria that includes causative agents of respiratory and urogenital infections

Origin of KLEBSIELLA

New Latin, from Edwin Klebs †1913 German pathologist

First Known Use: 1928

kleb·si·el·la

noun \ˌkleb-zē-ˈel-ə\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of KLEBSIELLA

1

capitalized : a genus of nonmotile gram-negative rod-shaped and frequently encapsulated bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae that include causative agents of respiratory and urinary infections—see pneumobacillus

2

: any bacterium of the genus Klebsiella

Biographical Note for KLEBSIELLA

Klebs \ˈklāps\ (audio pronunciation) (Theodor Albrecht) Edwin (1834–1913), German bacteriologist. Klebs is notable for his work on the bacterial theory of infection. During the Franco-Prussian War he made one of the first comprehensive studies of the pathology and bacteriology of gunshot wounds. He investigated tuberculosis throughout his career, and in 1873 he successfully produced tuberculosis in cattle. He also did research on the bacteriology of malaria and anthrax. In 1883 he made his most important discovery: the causative organism of diphtheria, now known as the Klebs-Löffler bacillus.

klebsiella

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Any of the rod-shaped bacteria that make up the genus Klebsiella. They are gram-negative (see gram stain), thrive better without oxygen than with it, and do not move. K. pneumoniae, also called Friedländer’s bacillus, can infect the human respiratory tract and cause pneumonia and, as well as some other species, human urinary-tract and wound infections.