SPIROCHETE

A microscopic bacterial organism, a spirochete apperars worm-like, spiral-shaped, and wiggles vigorously when viewed under a microscope. Treponema pallidum, the cause of syphilis, is a particularly well-known member of the Spirochaeta family. The term spirochete is an odd hybrid of Greek and Latin roots, the Latin "spira" for "coil" and the Greek "chaite" for "long flowing hair," formed because the spirochete looked like a coil of hair.