treponemas

Variant of treponema

treponema definition

trepo·nema (trep′ə nē′mə)

noun pl. treponemas -·mas or treponemata -·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

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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