HACEK

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• initialism pathology Haemophilus aphrophilus, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (the former name of Haemophilus actinomycetemcomitans), Cardiobacterium hominis, Eikenella corrodens, and Kingella kingae — five gram-negative bacilli that are typically associated with being fastidious or difficult to culture and which can cause bacterial endocarditis.