Clostridium difficile

Definition: a bacterial species found in feces of humans and animals. It colonizes newborn infants, who are spared from toxin-induced diarrheal disease. Pathogenic for human beings, guinea pigs, and rabbits; frequent cause of colitis and diarrhea following antibiotic use. Found to be a cause of pseudomembranous colitis and associated with a number of intestinal diseases that are linked to antibiotic therapy; also the chief cause of nosocomial diarrhea.

[L. difficult]

Search Stedman's Medical Dictionary