Definition of "actinomycosis" [ac•ti•no•my•co•sis]

• An inflammatory disease of cattle, hogs, and sometimes humans, caused by microorganisms of the genus Actinomyces and characterized by lumpy tumors of the mouth, neck, chest, and abdomen. Also called lumpy jaw. (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.

• "-- It is a lamentable fact that some, at least, of the United States herds of prong-horned antelope are afflicted with a very deadly chronic infective disease known as actinomycosis, or lumpy-jaw."
• "Another disease caused by a fungus is “actinomycosis”, which in cattle and other animals is called “lumpy jaw”."
• "In actinomycosis there are usually severe swellings and abscesses in the mouth and other parts of the body."