ABSTRACT
Actinomyces israelii is an anaerobic, gram-positive, branching filamentous bacterium whose filaments, by their radial attachment to the granule, give the organism its name: actino (radial), myces (mold like). The diameter of the branching filaments is comparable to that of other bacteria; however, the overall length of the hyphae resembles that of molds measuring hundreds of thousands of microns.
