Einfluß hoher Körpertemperaturen auf die Spirochäten und Krankheitserscheinungen der Syphilis im Tierexperiment

Comparative Studies on the Histo-Pathology of Syphilis, Yaws, and Pinta

“…Finally, since Weichbrodt and Jahnel (1919) pointed out that the treponemes are "frigitropic" and "thermophobic" (Bessemans, 1937), it has been established that: experimental results suggest that the optimum temperature for the in vivo multiplication of treponemes is in the neighbourhood of 350 to 37°C. and that the development of treponemal lesions in a given tissue is related, in part at least, to the approximation of the local temperature to this level (Hollander and Turner, 1955 Hence, apart from the distinct preference for the various skin layers of the treponemes causing syphilis, yaws, and pinta, the existing local temperature appears to condition, at least to some extent, both the appearance and clinical morphology of treponemal pathology.…”