Treponema pallidum
Quick Summary
Treponema pallidum is a spirochete bacterium that causes syphilis, a systemic disease that is typically sexually transmitted. This slender, coiled bacterium requires moisture to survive and reproduces within the body's tissues, persisting for the lifetime of an infected person unless treated. Syphilis can also be transmitted from an infected mother to her fetus.1
While venereal syphilis is sexually transmitted, related infections known as treponematosis are not and are localized in warmer regions with less access to healthcare. Penicillin is an effective treatment for syphilis, killing the spirochetes. Untreated syphilis progresses through primary, secondary, and latent stages, potentially leading to late-stage complications affecting various body systems, including the cardiovascular and nervous systems. A rare neurologic form of tertiary syphilis, tabes dorsalis, involves sensory deficits and loss of coordination.12
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sexually transmitted diseaseSyphilis and gonorrhea…is caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. Syphilis was first widely reported by European writers in the 16th century, and some medical historians assume that it was imported into Europe by explorers returning from the New World. Other authorities believe that syphilis is of ancient origin and may at one…
Read More…is caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. Syphilis was first widely reported by European writers in the 16th century, and some medical historians assume that it was imported into Europe by explorers returning from the New World. Other authorities believe that syphilis is of ancient origin and may at one…
Read More- syphilis test
…treponemal antibody—the antibody that attacks T. pallidum, the spirochete that causes syphilis—in the blood. In most cases, the diagnosis of syphilis is performed using both a nontreponemal and a treponemal test.
Read More…treponemal antibody—the antibody that attacks T. pallidum, the spirochete that causes syphilis—in the blood. In most cases, the diagnosis of syphilis is performed using both a nontreponemal and a treponemal test.
Read More - syphilis
by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum. Syphilis is usually a sexually transmitted disease, but it is occasionally acquired by direct nonsexual contact with an infected person, and it can also be acquired by an unborn fetus through infection in the mother. A related group of infections, collectively known as…
Read Moreby the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum. Syphilis is usually a sexually transmitted disease, but it is occasionally acquired by direct nonsexual contact with an infected person, and it can also be acquired by an unborn fetus through infection in the mother. A related group of infections, collectively known as…
Read More - human sexual activityCommon sexually transmitted organisms
…the cervix in women, and Treponema pallidum, which is responsible for syphilis. The parasite Chlamydia trachomatis causes a variety of disorders—in women, urethritis, cervicitis, and salpingitis (inflammation of the ureter, cervix, and fallopian tubes,
Read More…the cervix in women, and Treponema pallidum, which is responsible for syphilis. The parasite Chlamydia trachomatis causes a variety of disorders—in women, urethritis, cervicitis, and salpingitis (inflammation of the ureter, cervix, and fallopian tubes,
Read More - tabes dorsalis
Elimination of the causative organism, Treponema pallidum, with penicillin may relieve pain but does not reverse nervous degeneration. Therapy otherwise involves support of diminished functions and prevention of further deterioration.
Read MoreElimination of the causative organism, Treponema pallidum, with penicillin may relieve pain but does not reverse nervous degeneration. Therapy otherwise involves support of diminished functions and prevention of further deterioration.
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