Spirochete Stains
The term spirochetes will be used to encompass the group of flexuous, thin, gram negative, chemoheterotrophic, helical shaped organisms (Figure 7-1), which differ morphologically from other prokaryotes by the presence of an axial
fibril, also known as endoflagellum, existyle or axial filament.
By a current
definition, any prokaryote with an axial fibrial is considered as spirochete. The cell dimensions vary within the group from diameters of 0.09-0.75 μm to length of 3-500 μm. Their habitates are diverse. The members of family Spirochetaceae are free living saprophytes, while many members of family Treponemataceae are pathogenic to animals. For further informations, one may refer the recent review article by Holt (1) and Johnson (2). Treponema macrodenticum is the commensal present in the teeth gum. For the demonstration of spirochete staining, use the material from interspace of teeth
