Evaluating the Vitality of Coccoid form of Helicobacter Pylori by a Transmission Electron Microscope Study

Most studies, if not all, emphasize that the coccoid form of (Helicobacter Pylori) is the dead form of this bacteria, because of incapability of growing this bacterium in the culture media used in growing the spiral form of the same bacteria. The coccoid form doesn't have a vital role in infection, so it has no biological or medical importance. Hence, the aim of this study is to evaluate the vitality of coccoid form by using the Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) technique. The sample consisted of (54) patients attending endoscopy unit at Ibn-Sena teaching hospital in Mosul/Iraq. The Oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopic (OGD) findings of these patients were gastritis, duodenitis, gastric and duodenal ulcer. Two biopsies were taken from all patients, and each was submitted to bacteriological and histological examination by Light microscope (LM) and TEM.