Definition of "mycoplasma" [mycoplasma]

• Any of numerous parasitic, pathogenic microorganisms of the genus Mycoplasma that lack a true cell wall, are gram-negative, and need sterols such as cholesterol for growth. In humans, one species is a primary cause of nonbacterial pneumonia. Also called pleuropneumonia-like organism. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "He bucked scientific consensus to figure out that so-called "walking pneumonia" is caused not by a virus but by a kind of bacteria called mycoplasma, and he showed that it could be treated with antibiotics."
• "Or even how a bacteria works or how to kill one.most bacteria have a cell wall and can be killed by penetrating this cell wall, , but their is a group of microorganisms called mycoplasma which do not have cell wals and actually live inside the cell and live off of the stuff the nucleus depends on for sustenance Hmm..."
• "Three years after having her life thrown into chaos by a rare brain infection called mycoplasma meningoencephalitis - an aggressive form of meningitis - Maggie is back on the basketball court at BV Northwest."