Anaplasmataceae

An·a·plas·ma·ta·ce·ae .an-ə-.plaz-mə-'tā-sē-.ē n pl a family of obligately parasitic bacteria of the order Rickettsiales that are enclosed in a membrane, have an internal structure resembling that of members of the related family Rickettsiaceae, occur in short chains or in irregular groups in red blood cells or free in the blood of various vertebrates, and are classified in several genera including the genus Anaplasma

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Ana·plas·ma·ta·ce·ae (an″ə-plaz″mə-taґse-e) a family of bacteria of the order Rickettsiales, consisting of small, gram-negative, often pleomorphic, coccoid to ellipsoidal organisms parasitic in cells of the blood and hematopoietic system in some mammals and birds and transmitted by arthropods and helminths. Organisms grow in a cytoplasmic vacuole, and in blood smears stained with Romanowsky stain they appear as dense, bluish-purple inclusions known as morulae. There are two morphological forms: dense-core and reticulate cells. They cause disease in mammals and birds. The family includes the genera Aegyptianella, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Neorickettsia and Wolbachia.