Morphology

MORPHOLOGY
  • Nocardia has the ability to form Gram-positive, branching filaments of less than 1um in d.m.
  • It is closely related to Corynebacterium, Mycobacterium and Rhodococcus species.
  • They are obligate aerobes. Some produce true mycelia and some strains are acid-fast. All species are non-motile.
  • Gram stained smears from lesions revealed Gram-positive branching filaments that often showed fragmentation into coccobacillary elements.
  • The modified ZN stained smears exhibit a similar morphology but most of the filaments retain the carbol-fuchsin dye and stain red.
Last modified: Monday, 4 June 2012, 5:05 AM