Nonhemolytic o­n Blood agar.  Distinctive colony (1-3 mm) morphology, e.g., lens-, diamond- or heart-shaped, when grown o­n lactate agar media.   Smooth, entire and grayish white in appearance. [7]

Anaerobic, Gram negative coccus (~0.4 um in diameter), usually in pairs.    Lactate, pyruvate, malate, fumarate and oxaloacetate can be fermented, however carbohydrates are not.   CO₂ is required for growth.  Lactate is fermented to acetate, propionate, CO₂, and H_2^. G+C content is38 to 41 mol%.[7]
Phylogenetically similar to V. dispar, however V. parvula is catalase negative whereas V. dispar is catalase positive.  They can also be differentiated serologically and by DNA/DNA homology (28%).

Resistant to streptomycin and vancomycin, which can be used in media for selective enrichment of species of Veillonella.

Commonly detected in the human oral cavity and intestinal tract.  Prevalent o­n all oral surfaces [4] and in supragingival and subgingival plaque [4,5,6]

Veillonella parvula tend to be more prevalent in sites without disease, however it has been associated with discitis [3], tonsillitis, spinal osteomyelitis, sepsis, endodontic lesions [1], and coronary heart disease [2]