Blood and Tissue Flagellates Lecture Notes

These flashcards cover key concepts and details about blood and tissue flagellates, their stages of development, clinical manifestations, and diagnostic methods.

What are the four morphological stages of development in blood and tissue flagellates?

Trypomastigote, Epimastigote, Promastigote, Amastigote.

Name two blood flagellates.

Trypanosoma cruzi and Trypanosoma brucei complex.

What is a distinctive characteristic of the Amastigote stage in Leishmania?

It is the intracellular form of Leishmania, lacks a flagellum and can be seen in cells.

What type of transmission do Trypanosoma brucei gambiense and rhodesiense follow?

Salivaria transmission; they migrate to the mouthparts of the tsetse fly.

What is the infective stage of Trypanosoma cruzi?

Metacyclic Trypomastigote.

How is Leishmania typically transmitted to humans?

Through the bite of a sand fly (Phlebotomus spp.).

What are the main clinical manifestations of Chagas disease?

Acute and chronic forms including cardiomyopathy, megacolon, and others.

What are the vector hosts for Trypanosoma brucei?

Tsetse flies (Glossina spp.).

Which laboratory tests are used for diagnosis of Chagas disease?

Blood smears, tissue biopsy, serology, and xenodiagnosis.

What are the primary characteristics of Leishmania donovani?

Causes Visceral Leishmaniasis (Kala-azar) and is transmitted by sand flies.

What type of Leishmania is known to cause Cutaneous Leishmaniasis?

Leishmania tropica.

What is the life cycle of T. brucei characterized by?

It involves the tsetse fly as an intermediate host and has no infection in the amastigote stage.

What can be clinical symptoms of acute Chagas disease?

Fever, malaise, and generalized lymphadenopathy.

What staining method is used for microscopic examination in diagnosing Trypanosomiasis?

Giemsa's stain.

What is the common geographic distribution for Leishmania species?

Endemic in many parts of Africa, Asia, and South America.

What is one clinical manifestation of sleeping sickness due to T. brucei?

Winterbottom’s sign, characterized by enlarged posterior cervical lymph nodes.