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Definition

Negri bodies

(nā'grē )

[Adelchi Negri, Italian physician, 1876–1912]

Inclusion bodies found in the cells of the central nervous system of animals infected with rabies. They are eosinophilic masses of virus appearing in large ganglion cells or in cells of the brain, esp. those of the hippocampus and cerebellum. Their presence is considered conclusive proof of rabies.