The word “coccus” has a couple of different meanings in biology, but it most commonly refers to a type of bacteria that is spherical or slightly oval in shape. In this application, the plural term used to describe entire bacterial chains or infections is cocci, whereas a single coccus bacterium is called a monococcus. There are many different strains and species in this broad family. Some benefit life, either by helping keep cell balance or warding off other infections, while others can be quite harmful. In most cases the shape of the bacteria is useful for classification and evolutionary purposes but doesn’t say much about how it will perform or what it does. The bacteria’s individual coding and composition more commonly dictate these things.
