Bacilli

pl. (sing. bacillus.) [From Lat. bacillus, a little rod.] ( Biol.) Rod-shaped microbes, a genus of the Bacteria, having various microscopic shapes, and found practically everywhere. They are thought to be the cause of very many diseases, and specific forms have been identified with splenic fever, diphtheria, consumption, typhoid fever, erysipelas, cholera, . See BACTERIOLOGY, GERM THEORY OF DISEASE, .