An order of bacteria consisting of moldlike, rod-shaped, clubbed or filamentous forms with decided tendency to true branching, without endospores, but sometimes developing conidia; it includes the families Mycobacteriaceae, Actinomycetaceae, and Nocardiaceae.
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Ac·ti·no·my·ce·ta·les -.mī-sə-'tā-(.)lēz n pl an order of filamentous or rod-shaped bacteria tending strongly to the development of branches and true mycelium and lacking photosynthetic pigment see MYCOBACTERIACEAE, STREPTOMYCETACEAE
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Ac·ti·no·my·ce·ta·les (ak″tĭ-no-mi″sə-taґlēz) an order of bacteria of the subclass Actinobacteridae (class Actinobacteria), made up of elongated cells that tend to form branching filaments; medically important organisms are included in the suborders Actinomycineae, Corynebacterineae, Micrococcineae, Micromonosporineae, Propionibacterineae, Pseudonocardineae, Streptomycineae, and Streptosporangineae.Medical dictionary. 2011.