What it means
One of the two main groups of bacteria sorted by the Gram staingram staynA lab staining method that sorts bacteria into two groups by the color they turn under the microscope.Full entry . Gram-positive bacteria have a thick cell wall that holds the purple dye. Examples are Staphylococcus (including MRSAMUR-suh, or said as lettersMethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a staph bacterium that many common antibiotics cannot kill.Full entry ), Streptococcus, Enterococcus and C. difficilesee dif-uh-SEELClostridioides difficile, a spore-forming bacterium that can infect the colon (the large intestine).Full entry . The name comes from Hans Christian Gram, the Danish scientist who created the stain.
Remember it
Positive = Purple.
At a glance
| Also written | gram positive |
|---|
Easy to confuse with
gram-negative
Describes bacteria that stain pink or red with the Gram stain because of the way their cell wall is built.
Related terms
MRSA
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a staph bacterium that many common antibiotics cannot kill.
gram-negative
Describes bacteria that stain pink or red with the Gram stain because of the way their cell wall is built.
Gram stain
A lab staining method that sorts bacteria into two groups by the color they turn under the microscope.