Beginning of Essay
Diphtheria (Corynebacterium diphtheriae) Corynebacteria are Gram-positive, aerobic, nonmotile, rod-shaped bacteria related to the Actinomycetes. They do not form spores or branch as do the actinomycetes, but they have the characteristic of forming irregular shaped ....

Middle of Essay
.... and action have been clearly established. Consequently, highly effective methods of treatment and prevention of diphtheria have been developed. The study of Corynebacterium diphtheriae traces closely the development of medical microbiology, immunology and molecular biology. Many contributions to these fields, as well as to our understanding of host-bacterial interactions, have been made studying diphtheria and the diphtheria toxin. Hippocrates provided the first clinical description of diphtheria in the 4th century B.C. There are also references to the disease in ancient Syria and Egypt. In the 17th century, murderous epidemics of diphtheri ....