What Causes Syphilis?
Initially, Syphilis is caused by pathogenic bacteria known as Treponema pallidum. Along with this bacteria, there are also subspecies of it which cause other known diseases in the human body. All species of Treponema pallidum including the subspecies consist of a thin coiled structure which allows it to move in a corkscrew motion to travel through the body. Due to being too thin however, it is impossible to use Gram staining to physically see the bacteria. Instead, it is possible to use alternative types of staining known as Dieterle Staining and Silver Staining (both shown on the left). The bacteria as seen appear as thin black strands which form a twisted ‘corkscrew’ shape. Initially, any victim of Syphilis will first be exposed to the bacteria before it begins to subsequently infect the body. (Princeton.edu, no date)
Staining bacteria with methods such as the Dieterle stain or Gram stain are used for the purpose of allowing bacteria to be better examined. A majority of the stains used have a positive electrostatic charge which can bind with the opposing negative charge of a bacteria and allow it to be easily seen and distinguished in its surroundings. In one of the two examples here, the Silver stain shows distinctly where the bacteria are, showing up in a microscope's view as the black coiled strands. Without the use of staining, bacteria can often be difficult to see and determining the differences between two similarly-appearing bacteria can also be complicated. (Hendrix.edu, no date) |