Library / English Dictionary

COMMENSAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Either of two different animal or plant species living in close association but not interdependent

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("commensal" is a kind of...):

being; organism (a living thing that has (or can develop) the ability to act or function independently)

Derivation:

commensal (living in a state of commensalism)

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Living in a state of commensalism

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Domain category:

biological science; biology (the science that studies living organisms)

Pertainym:

commensalism (the relation between two different kinds of organisms when one receives benefits from the other without damaging it)

Derivation:

commensal (either of two different animal or plant species living in close association but not interdependent)

Credits

 Context examples: 

P. anaerobius is commensal to human mucocutaneous surfaces, but can become pathogenic in other locations.

(Peptostreptococcus anaerobius, NCI Thesaurus)

M. nonliquefaciens is a commensal organism of the upper respiratory tract but may become pathogenic in immunocompromised individuals.

(Moraxella nonliquefaciens, NCI Thesaurus)

N. cinerea is commensal in the human nasal and oropharyngeal tract, and is considered non-pathogenic, but can become pathogenic in immunocompromised individuals.

(Neisseria cinerea, NCI Thesaurus)

N. flavescens is commensal in the human oral cavity and can become pathogenic in immunocompromised individuals causing endocarditis, meningitis, and septicemia.

(Neisseria flavescens, NCI Thesaurus)

N. lactamica is commensal in the human nasopharynx, commonly isolated from children, and is rarely pathogenic.

(Neisseria lactamica, NCI Thesaurus)

N. mucosa is commensal in the human nasopharynx and is rarely pathogenic.

(Neisseria mucosa, NCI Thesaurus)

M. orale is commensal in the human oropharynx and is usually non-pathogenic, but can cause infections in immunosuppressed patients and is a common contaminant found in cultured cells.

(Mycoplasma orale, NCI Thesaurus)

M. hominis is commensal in the urogenital flora of adults, but is an opportunistic pathogen implicated in female genital infections and may also cause infections in newborns, especially in those that are immunosuppressed.

(Mycoplasma hominis, NCI Thesaurus)

M. osloensis is commensal in the human respiratory tract and rarely pathogenic.

(Moraxella osloensis, NCI Thesaurus)

M. flavescens is a commensal organism of the respiratory tract and is not associated with clinical disease.

(Mycobacterium flavescens, NCI Thesaurus)