A clinical summary of Mycobacterium Leprae and Leprosy

Mycobacterium leprae it's an acid-fast bacillus which means it’s resistant to

decolorization by acids and it has a high content of mycolic acid in its cell
wall, which makes it waxy, hydrophobic and impermeable to routine stain
such as Gram stain.

So, it needs special staining methods to be visualized such as Ziehl-Neelsen

staining which uses carbol fuchsin combined with phenol which is able to
penetrate the waxy mycobacterial cell wall.

So, the stain binds to the mycolic acid in the mycobacterial cell wall and after
staining, an acid decolorizing solution is applied which removes the red dye
from the background cells, tissue fibres, and any organisms in the smear
except Mycobacteria, which retain the dye.

So Mycobacterium leprae appears bright red on a blue background. Other

staining methods can be used such as Kinyoun staining, in which the bacteria
appear bright red on a green background and fluorescence microscopy using
specific fluorescent dyes such as auramine-rhodamine stain
Bacteria is ingested by macrophages and wrapped up in a vesicle called a 
phagosome.
 Normally, phagosome merge with another intracellular organelle called a lysosome.
Inside the phagolysosome, the bacteria would normally be destroyed.

But, in case of  Mycobacterium leprae , it has the ability to inhibit the phagolysosomal fusion,
which allows the bacteria to survive inside macrophages and replicate there.
  The host responds to leprosy through cell mediated immunity via T-helper cells by
releasing T cell cytokines. Depending on which T-helper cells are involved in the immune
response, there are two major forms of leprosy - lepromatous and tuberculoid.
not effective in killing intracellular
pathogens like Mycobacterium
leprae
 with a glove and
 found stocking
on extensor surface distribution
s of the
extremities.
 the pigmented
layer of the eye.

inability to close the eyelids

completely.
 In the lepromatous form, there are lipid laden macrophages, called foam cells,
containing many acid fast bacilli, while in the tuberculoid form, there very few acid
fast bacilli, and granulomas, which are collections of immune cells.
To determine what type of leprosy a person has
An alternative summary of everything aforementioned
Symptoms continued
Thank you:)