chaeto-, chaet-, chaeti-, cheto-, chet-

A transparent marine worm with horizontal lateral and caudal (near the tail) fins and a row of movable curved spines at each side of the mouth.

An order of Annelida which includes the earthworms and related species with very few long flowing hairs.

1. Parasitic or free-living bacteria; many of which are pathogenic to humans and other animals.
2. A coiled rod-shaped bacterium, many of which cause diseases; such as, syphilis and relapsing.

The spirochetes, or spirochaetes, are a phylum of distinctive bacteria, which have long, helically coiled cells.