Treponema pallidum
Corkscrew-shaped venereal pathogen
Treponema pallidum is the spiral-shaped bacterium that causes syphilis.
The organism cannot survive long outside the human body and spreads primarily through sexual contact or from mother to child during pregnancy.
Its name comes from Greek words meaning "turning thread" and Latin for "pale"—it doesn't absorb standard laboratory stains well.
- spirocheteSpiral-shaped bacterium
- syphilisSpirochete-caused venereal infection
- congenital syphilisTreponema infection from mother
- prokaryoteCell without nuclear membrane
- bacteriumSingle-celled prokaryotic life
Wassermann test · tertiary syphilis · yaws · pathogen · Hutchinson's teeth · flagella · microorganism · anaerobe · motility · penicillin · venereal · STD · ulcer · transmission · latent · serology · infection · contagious
- STIschlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, herpes, syphilis
- bloodborne pathogensHIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, Ebola virus, hepatitis
- Spirochetesspirochetes
- syphilissyphilis, tertiary syphilis, congenital syphilis, chancre, spirochete
- Genital Ulcerschancre, genital herpes