Medical Dictionary

Serratia

noun Ser·ra·tia \ se-ˈrā-sh(ē-)ə \

medical Definition of Serratia

: a genus of aerobic saprophytic flagellated rod-shaped bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae that occur as rods, commonly produce a bright red pigment, and include one (S. marcescens) associated with some human opportunistic infections

Biographical Note for serratia

Serrati play \se-ˈrä-tē\, Serafino Italian boatman. The genus Serratia was so named in 1823 by Bartolomeo Bizio, a bacteriologist at the University of Padua, Italy, in honor of Serrati, who was engaged in operating a steamboat on the Arno River.