cryptococcus

noun

cryp·to·coc·cus | \ ˌkrip-tə-ˈkä-kəs

plural cryptococci\ ˌkrip-tə-ˈkäk-ˌsī

, -ˌsē , -ˈkä-ˌkī , -ˌkē \

Definition of cryptococcus

: any of a genus (Cryptococcus) of budding imperfect fungi that resemble yeasts and include a number of saprophytes and a few serious pathogens

History and Etymology for cryptococcus

borrowed from New Latin, from crypto- crypto- + -coccus -coccus

Note: Taxon introduced by the German pharmacist and phycologist Friedrich Traugott Kützing (1807-93) in "Beitrag zur Kenntnis über die Entstehung und Metamorphose der niedern vegetabilischen Organismen," Linnaea, vol. 8 (1833), p. 339. Kützing appears to have so named what he characterized as "farblose Schleimkügelchen" ("colorless balls of slime") because of his difficulty in seeing them. As a valid description of a taxon Kützing's work has given way to an account by the French mycologist Jean Paul Vuillemin in "Les blastomycètes pathogènes," Revue générales des sciences pures et appliquées, vol. 12 (1901), pp. 732-51.

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More Definitions for cryptococcus

cryptococcus

noun

cryp·to·coc·cus | \ -ˈkäk-əs

Medical Definition of cryptococcus

1 capitalized : a genus of budding imperfect fungi that resemble yeasts and include a number of saprophytes and a few serious pathogens

2 plural cryptococci\ -ˈkäk-ˌ(s)ī, -(ˌ)(s)ē

\ : any fungus of the genus Cryptococcus

cryptococcus

Definition of cryptococcus

Other Words from cryptococcus

First Known Use of cryptococcus

History and Etymology for cryptococcus

Medical Definition of cryptococcus

cryptococcus

Definition of cryptococcus

Other Words from cryptococcus

First Known Use of cryptococcus

History and Etymology for cryptococcus

Medical Definition of cryptococcus

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