Spirochetal organisms were sought in 18 skin and 4 synovial membrane specimens obtained by biopsy from 22 Lyme disease patients. The presence of spirochetes in body tissues was histologically demonstrated in one patient with lymphadenosis benigna cutis, one patient with acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans and in one patient with active arthritis. The organisms were 5-30 microns long and 0.12-0.25 microns thick, had 8 or 11 flagella arising from both ends of the body, and their ultrastructure was analogous to that of cultured Borrelia burgdorferi strains. They were located intra- or perivascularly, or in the collagenous connective tissue of the skin and synovium. This implies that Lyme spirochetes may have a potential to survive in body tissues and cause injury to blood vessels.

Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology Prague Czechoslovakia

References provided by Crossref.org

Pleomorphism and Viability of the Lyme Disease Pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi Exposed to Physiological Stress Conditions: A Correlative Cryo-Fluorescence and Cryo-Scanning Electron Microscopy Study

Spirochetal non-Borrelia-microorganism isolated from Ixodes ricinus

Long-term results in patients with Lyme arthritis following treatment with ceftriaxone

Borrelia burgdorferi isolates from erythema migrans