Bacterium
Bartonella henselae
Cat-scratch disease, bacillary angiomatosis
bar-toh-NEL-uh hen-SEL-eye
High-yield clue
Regional lymphadenopathy after a kitten scratch (cat-scratch disease) is the classic Bartonella henselae clue; bacillary angiomatosis appears in immunocompromised hosts.
Overview
A fastidious Gram-negative rod studied as the cause of cat-scratch disease and, in immunocompromised hosts, of vascular proliferative lesions such as bacillary angiomatosis.
Classification
- Gram-negative
- Rod
- Bartonellaceae
- Aerobe
- Fastidious intracellular
Lab & identification clues
- Warthin-Starry silver stain vocabulary
- Fastidious, hard-to-culture concept
- Serology/PCR-based identification vocabulary
- Facultative intracellular growth concept
Associations
- Kitten scratch/bite and cat-flea transmission vocabulary
- Regional lymphadenopathy presentation vocabulary
- Bacillary angiomatosis in immunocompromised hosts framing
Commonly confused with
- Pasteurella multocida
- Coxiella burnetii
Your notes
Original student-study summary. Sources checked: OpenStax Microbiology 2e, NCBI Bookshelf Medical Microbiology, and CDC topic pages where applicable; reviewed 2026-06. Educational only; no diagnosis, treatment, dosing, or specimen-handling guidance.