APICOMPLEXA Plasmodium species Kingdom Protista Subkingdom Protozoa Phylum Apicomplexa Class Sporozoasida Order Eucoccidiorida Family Plasmodiidae Genus Plasmodium Species falciparum, malariae, ovale, vivax
General endo-erythrocytic Mature ring trophozoite Marginal trophozoite RBC Early ring trophozoite General endo-erythrocytic Life Cycle Mature trophozoite Immature Schizont Merozoites Schizont Micro- gametocyte Macro- gametocyte Mature Schizont
In mosquito (final host) Gametocytes(♀♂) gametes (♀♂) (blood) (stomach of insect) union of zygote sporozoites oocyst motile ookinete (Salivary glands) ( the body cavity side)
# of merozoites in schizont 8-24 16-24 6-12 4-16 Schuffner’s dots Hemozoin granules Micro Macro P.f Trophozoites of P. m P.v P. falciparum P. vivax P. malariae P. ovale Schuffner’s dots No Yes, fine Yes, large Size of infected RBC Normal Enlarged Smaller to normal # of merozoites in schizont 8-24 16-24 6-12 4-16 Gametocyte Crescent Round or oval Round Fever periodicity ~48 hours 48 hours 72 hours
P. vivax schizont with merozoites P. vivax female gametocyte P. vivax early trophozoite P. vivax older ameboid trophozoite Early schizont Mature schizont P. vivax schizont with merozoites P. vivax female gametocyte
P. malariae band form trophozoite P. malariae ring trophozoite P. malariae schizont P. malariae microgametocyte
Plasmodium falciparum diagnostic stages Macrogametocytes (♀) Immature Mature Microgametocytes (♂) Immature Mature Very young ring trophozoite 3 medium trophozoites Marginal trophozoites In a blood smear diagnostic stages of falciparum are cigar shaped gametocytes (top row) and the small ring (trophozoite) stages (bottom row). No other stages are seen.
Thin vs. Thick A thick blood smear is a drop of blood on a glass slide. Thick blood smears are most useful for detecting the presence of parasites because they examine a larger sample of blood. (Often there are few parasites in the blood at the time the test is done.) A thin blood smear is a drop of blood that is spread across a large area of the slide. Thin blood smears helps doctors discover what species of malaria is causing the infection.