Image of Eikenella corrodens

Description:

Magnified 1125X, this photomicrograph revealed the presence of numerous Gram-negative bacilli, i.e., rod-shaped organisms, Eikenella corrodens, which in part, derives its name from the fact that when this organism is grown on agar medium, it appears to erode the medium. E. corrodens is a facultative anaerobic organism, which means that in the presence of environmental oxygen it creates ATP, but switches to fermentation in oxygen’s absence. As a commensal organism, E. corrodens is normally found in the human mouth and upper airways, and has been found to be the cause of infection in cancer patients, and patients injured through a bite injury.
Created: 1972