Mycobacterium

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Mycobacterium (my-koh-bak-teer-iŭm) n. a genus of rodlike aerobic Gram-positive bacteria. Several species are responsible for opportunistic infections of the lung (see MAI complex). M. leprae (Hansen's bacillus) the species that causes leprosy. M. tuberculosis (Koch's bacillus) the species that causes tuberculosis.

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