SYPHILIS. 647 



In 1905, Hoffman and Schaudinn discovered in 

 the primary and secondary lesions of syphilis, a 

 very delicate spirochete which they named Spiro- 

 cliceta, pallida on account of the difficulty of stain- 

 ing it with anilin dyes. 



The spirillum is of corkscrew-like form with 

 from six to thirty turns. It is about 14 micron in 

 thickness, and from 4 to 26 microns in length. 

 The turns are regular and deep in the middle and 

 become less pronounced toward the ends. There 

 is a fine flagellum at each end of the spirillum. 

 When observed in serum by means of dark-field 

 illumination, the organism exhibits marked motil- 

 ity. Movement may be observed both forward and 

 backward ; rotary and bending motion is also seen. 

 Stained with Giemsa's eosinate of azur, the spirilla 

 are stained a pale rose color. According to Schau- 

 dinn, division takes place longitudinally, and in 

 this respect the spirochete resembles the trypan- 

 osomas. The systematic position of the organism 

 is not yet certain. Cultivation has been reported 

 by a number of workers. The cultures were not 

 pure, however, and the spirochetes were non-viru- 

 lent. 



The Spirocliceta pallida has been found in the Anatomic 



in * i-v mi, Distribution. 



lesions of all stages of syphilis. These organisms 

 are found in great abundance in the primary les- 

 ion and in the tissues of the infected regional 

 lymph glands. They are easily detected in the 

 tissues affected in secondary syphilis. Although 

 found in the circulating blood, they occur only 

 occasionally or in small numbers. In the organs 

 affected by fetal syphilis, spirochetes are found in 



