Helicobacter pylori is a spirochete.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. It is a coccus
• D. It is a rod

Answer: (B)

The main concept here is recognizing that Helicobacter pylori is not a spirochete. Spirochetes such as Treponema, Borrelia, and Leptospira are slender, flexible spiral bacteria that move with axial filaments (endoflagella) giving a corkscrew motion. Helicobacter pylori, on the other hand, is a Gram-negative bacterium with a curved or helical shape and flagella, but it lacks those axial filaments. Because of this, it is described as a curved/spiral Gram-negative bacterium rather than a true spirochete. So the statement is not correct. It is not a cocci and not simply a straight rod; its appearance is best described as curved or spiral.