What is "clostridium tetani"

clostridium \clostridium\ n. clostridia

1. spindle-shaped bacterial cell esp. one swollen at the center by an endospore.

   Syn: clostridia.

2. [capitalized] a genus of anaerobic, spore-forming motile bacteria of the family Bacillaceae, including several pathogenic species, such as the causative agents of gas gangrene ( Clostridium perfringens), botulism ( Clostridium botulinum), and tetanus ( Clostridium tetani).

Clostridium tetani is a rod-shaped, anaerobic species of pathogenic bacteria, of the genus Clostridium. Like other Clostridium genus species, it is Gram-positive, and its appearance on a gram stain resembles tennis rackets or drumsticks. C. tetani is found as spores in soil or in the gastrointestinal tract of animals. C. tetani produces a potent biological toxin, tetanospasmin, and is the causative agent of tetanus, a disease characterized by painful muscular spasms that can lead to respiratory failure and, in up to 10% of cases, death.