L. botulus = sausage, Gr. kloster = spindle.
Botox, the brand name for botulinum toxin, is a neurotoxin produced by the 1895 isolated anaerobic bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The term refers to the botulism outbreak due to home-cured ham. The bacteria was initially termed Bacillus botulinum, however later reclassified into the genus of Clostridium, as the genus Bacillus was restricted to aerobic, spore-forming rods.
