Answer
(f) Incubation stage
(e) Primary stage
(d) Primary latent period
(c) Secondary stage
(b) Secondary latent stage
(a) Tertiary stage
Work Step by Step
Stages of Syphilis:
Incubation stage- Organisms are multiplying and spreading throughout the body over a period lasting 2–6 weeks after entering the body.
Primary stage- Inflammatory “chancres” usually develop at the primary entry site 3 weeks later after initial infection. Chancres disappear 4–6 weeks later but the disease has progressed to next stage.
Primary latent period- External signs of disease disappear, but blood tests are still positive since the spirochetes are spreading throughout the circulation.
Secondary stage- Highly contagious stage in which symptoms can appear, disappear, and reappear over a period of up to 5 years. Copper-colored rashes are common
Secondary latent stage- All symptoms disappear again. Can persist for life, variable periods, or not at all. In some patients syphilis does not progress beyond this stage.
Tertiary stage- Disease of multiple body systems occurs including “neurosyphilis” with formations of granulomatous inflammation called “gummas.”
