Spirochaetales

An order of bacteria containing slender, flexuous cells, 6–500 μm in length, in the form of spirals with at least one complete turn. Some species may have an axial filament, a lateral crista, or ridge, or transverse striations. All of these organisms are motile, whirling or spinning about the long axis, thus driving the organism forward or backward. Free-living, saprophytic, and parasitic forms occur. The type family is Spirochaetaceae.

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Spi·ro·chae·ta·les .spī-rə-kē-'tā-(.)lēz n pl an order of higher bacteria comprising slender elongated flexuous spiral forms in which the body makes up at least one complete turn of the spiral

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Spi·ro·chae·ta·les (spi″ro-ke-taґlēz) an order of bacteria of the class Spirochaetes comprising free-living, commensal, and parasitic organisms, with some being pathogenic; organisms of medical interest are contained in the families Spirochaetaceae, Leptospiraceae, and Serpulinaceae.