TREPONEMA

[trep.o.ne.ma] n, pl -ma.ta or -mas [NL Treponemat-, Treponema, fr. Gk trepein to turn + nema thread, fr. nen to spin--more at needle] (ca. 1908): any of a genus (Treponema) of spirochetes that are pathogenic in humans and other warm-blooded animals and include organisms causing syphilis and yaws -- trep.o.ne.mal adj