syphilis: Quick Facts

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Oct. 1, 2026

Facts

Also Known As	Great Pox • French disease

Photos

Scanning electron micrograph of Treponema pallidum, the spirochete bacterium that is the causative agent of syphilis.

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Topics

bejel Hutchinson’s triad gumma syphilitic laryngitis Treponema pallidum pallidum Kahn test Swift-Ellis treatment Wassermann test syphilis test notifiable disease AIDS cholera leprosy tuberculosis plague anthrax herpes simplex scarlet fever diphtheria gonorrhea

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Key People

Ehrlich, Paul

Paul Ehrlich

German medical scientist

Paracelsus

Paracelsus

German-Swiss physician

Fracastoro, engraving

Girolamo Fracastoro

Italian physician

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Fritz Schaudinn

German zoologist

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Sir Jonathan Hutchinson

British pathologist

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3d illustration human heart. Adult Anatomy Aorta Black Blood Vessel Cardiovascular System Coronary Artery Coronary Sinus Front View Glowing Human Artery Human Heart Human Internal Organ Medical X-ray Myocardium

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