What is "corynebacterium diphtheriae"

corynebacterium \co`ry*ne`bac*ter"i*um\, n. (MIcrobiol.) 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.

Corynebacterium diphtheriae is the pathogenic bacterium that causes diphtheria. It is also known as the Klebs-Löffler bacillus, because it was discovered in 1884 by German bacteriologists Edwin Klebs (1834–1912) and Friedrich Löffler (1852–1915).