The genus Corynebacterium (from Greek koryne = club - due to the unilateral or bilateral club-shaped distension of the bacterium) includes partly aerobic, partly anaerobic, gram-positive, short, straight or slightly curved, immobile rods of the bacterial family Corynebacteriaceae, often with club-like thickened ends and metachromatic granules. Pathological significance exists, among others, in:
- Diphtheria (Corynebacterium diphtheria)
- Erythrasma (Corynebacterium minutissimum)
- Keratoma sulcatum
- Trichobacteriosis palmellina (Corynebacterium tenuis)
- Acne vulgaris (Propionibacterium acnes)
- Ulcers (Corynebacterium pyogenes; is primarily animal pathogenic)
- Sepsis (Corynebacterium jeikeium; mostly diseases in immunocompromised people)
- Pharyngitis and skin ulcerations (Arcanobacterium haemolyticum)