SYPHILIS AND THE MICROSCOPE, A CENTURY-LONG RELATIONSHIP Manuel del Cerro, Pittsford, NY, USA Lazaros C.Triarhou, Thessaloniki, Greece INTRODUCTION Recently, while reviewing some antique microscopes and old books, we were reminded of the fact that the century-old story of the microscopic identification of the agent of syphilis deserves to be remembered, as it was a turning point in the fight against the disease (Kohl and Winzer, 2005). That discovery was only possible through the ingenious application of specialized microscope instrumentation. 1