, n. 
		                    		                        
		                            		                                		                                    
		                                         Any member of the genus Corynebacterium, consisting of gram-positive usually nonmotile irregularly rod-shaped bacteria, some of which are pathogenic or parasitic in humans and domestic animals, such as Corynebacterium diphtheriae, which causes diphtheria.		                                        		                                         [PJC]