treponema

noun pl. -·mas or -·ma·ta-mə tə

any of a genus (Treponema) of slender spirochetes parasitic in mammals and birds, including some that are pathogenic to humans, as the organisms causing syphilis and yaws

Etymology: ModL < Gr trepein, to turn (see trope) + nēma, a thread < IE base *(s)nē- > needle