Bacterium
Borrelia burgdorferi
Tick-borne spirochete
boh-REL-ee-uh burg-DOR-fer-eye
High-yield clue
Spirochete + Ixodes tick + erythema migrans vocabulary.
Overview
A spirochete used to teach Ixodes tick vocabulary, erythema migrans coursework clues, and two-tier serology concepts.
Classification
- Spirochete
- Vector-borne bacterium
Lab & identification clues
- Serology vocabulary
- PCR term recognition in selected contexts
- Spirochete morphology
Associations
- Lyme disease vocabulary
- Reservoir/vector ecology concepts
- Arthritis/neurocardiac association terms
Commonly confused with
- Treponema pallidum
- Leptospira interrogans
- Rickettsia rickettsii
Your notes
Original student-study summary. Sources checked: OpenStax Microbiology 2e, NCBI Bookshelf Medical Microbiology, and CDC topic pages where applicable; reviewed 2026-06. Educational only; no diagnosis, treatment, dosing, or specimen-handling guidance.