Seen here are spirochetes from a lesion of primary syphilis known a chancre. The causative organism is Treponema pallidum. This is a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Mothers who are infected may pass the spirochetes to fetuses in the third trimester, resulting in congenital syphilis. The characteristic histopathologic findings include endarteritis and inflammatory infiltrates with numerous plasma cells. The primary stage of syphilis is evident a couple of weeks after initial infection as a chancre at the site of inoculation. This spontaneously heals, and secondary syphilis ensues, lasting for a couple of months, characterized by a rash. The disease then becomes quiescent, but manifestations of tertiary syphilis may develop decades later as neurosyphilis, cardiovascular syphilis, or gummatous necrosis in visceral organs or soft tissues. In this tertiary stage, the spirochetes are difficult to demonstrate in tissues.
| Our winner is: Nilda Nieves of Lares, Puerto Rico
| |
Return to the C.O.W. main menu.