1. APICOMPLEXA Plasmodium species
Kingdom Protista
Subkingdom Protozoa
Phylum Apicomplexa
Class Sporozoasida
Order Eucoccidiorida
Family Plasmodiidae
Genus Plasmodium
Species falciparum,  malariae,  ovale,  vivax

2. 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

3. In mosquito (final host)
Gametocytes(♀♂) gametes (♀♂)
(blood) (stomach of insect)
union of
zygote
sporozoites oocyst motile ookinete
(Salivary glands) ( the body cavity side)

4. # 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

5. 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

6. P. malariae band form trophozoite
P. malariae ring trophozoite
P. malariae schizont
P. malariae microgametocyte

7. 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.

8. 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.