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Bacterial Structures > Fimbriae, Bacterial
Cells > Cellular Structures > Cell Surface Extensions > Fimbriae, Bacterial

Preferred term

Fimbriae, Bacterial  

Type

  • Topical Descriptor

Broader concept

Related concepts

Entry terms

  • Bacterial Fimbria
  • Bacterial Fimbriae
  • Common Fimbria
  • Common Fimbriae
  • Common Pili
  • Common Pilus
  • Fimbria, Bacterial
  • Fimbria, Common
  • Fimbriae, Common
  • Pili, Common
  • Pilus, Common

Scope note

  • Thin, hairlike appendages, 1 to 20 microns in length and often occurring in large numbers, present on the cells of gram-negative bacteria, particularly Enterobacteriaceae and Neisseria. Unlike flagella, they do not possess motility, but being protein (pilin) in nature, they possess antigenic and hemagglutinating properties. They are of medical importance because some fimbriae mediate the attachment of bacteria to cells via adhesins (ADHESINS, BACTERIAL). Bacterial fimbriae refer to common pili, to be distinguished from the preferred use of "pili", which is confined to sex pili (PILI, SEX).

History note

  • 95; was PILI, BACTERIAL 1980-94; FIMBRIAE, BACTERIAL was see PILI, BACTERIAL 1980-94

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URI

http://www.yso.fi/onto/mesh/D010861

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