What is "spirochaete"

Spirochaeta \Spi`ro*ch[ae]"ta\, Spirochaete \Spi`ro*ch[ae]"te\, n. [L. spira a coil + Gr. ??? hair.] (Biol.) A genus of Spirobacteria similar to Spirillum, but distinguished by its motility. One species, the Spiroch[ae]te Obermeyeri, is supposed to be the cause of relapsing fever.

Relapsing \Re*laps"ing\, a. Marked by a relapse; falling back; tending to return to a former worse state.

Relapsing fever (Med.), an acute, epidemic, contagious fever, which prevails also endemically in Ireland, Russia, and some other regions. It is marked by one or two remissions of the fever, by articular and muscular pains, and by the presence, during the paroxism of spiral bacterium ( Spiroch[ae]te) in the blood. It is not usually fatal. Called also famine fever, and recurring fever.

n. (alternative spelling of spirochete English)

n. (alternative form of spirochaete English)

n. parasitic or free-living bacteria; many pathogenic to humans and other animals [syn: spirochete]

Spirochaetes (also spelled spirochetes) belong to a phylum of distinctive diderm (double-membrane) bacteria, most of which have long, helically coiled (corkscrew-shaped or spiraled, hence the name) cells. Spirochaetes are chemoheterotrophic in nature, with lengths between 3 and 500 µm and diameters around 0.09 to at least 3 µm.

Spirochaetes are distinguished from other bacterial phyla by the location of their flagella, sometimes called axial filaments, which run lengthwise between the bacterial inner membrane and outer membrane in periplasmic space. These cause a twisting motion which allows the spirochaete to move about. When reproducing, a spirochaete will undergo asexual transverse binary fission.

Most spirochaetes are free-living and anaerobic, but there are numerous exceptions.

Spirochetes may cause dementia and may be involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.