Bacterium
Bordetella pertussis
Small respiratory coccobacillus with toxin vocabulary
bor-duh-TEL-uh per-TUSS-is
High-yield clue
Paroxysmal cough coursework clue + pertussis toxin and tracheal cytotoxin vocabulary.
Overview
A small Gram-negative coccobacillus used to teach pertussis toxin vocabulary, ciliated respiratory epithelium concepts, and vaccine-prevention framing.
Classification
- Gram-negative
- Coccobacillus
- Strict aerobe concept
Lab & identification clues
- PCR vocabulary
- Special media terms to recognize
- Respiratory epithelial association
Associations
- Whooping cough vocabulary
- Acellular vaccine concept
- Toxin mechanism drills
Commonly confused with
- Haemophilus influenzae
- Mycoplasma pneumoniae
- Respiratory syncytial virus
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.