Blood & Tissue protozoans

Sporozoa

Organisms that can cause malaria or babesiosis.

Malaria

A disease caused by Plasmodium species, resulting in approximately 405,000 deaths annually, primarily affecting children.

Plasmodium falciparum

The major species associated with deadly malaria infections.

Anopheles mosquito

The vector responsible for transmitting Plasmodium species.

Schizogony

The process of asexual reproduction in the life cycle of Plasmodium, resulting in exoerythrocytic merozoites.

Erythrocytic cycle

The phase of the Plasmodium life cycle where merozoites invade red blood cells.

Paroxysms

Symptomatic periods of fever and chills caused by the rupture of schizonts.

Microgametocyte

The male form of the gametocyte produced by Plasmodium.

Macrogametocyte

The female form of the gametocyte produced by Plasmodium.

Hypnocytes

Dormant stages of Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium ovale that can remain quiescent in the liver.

Schiffner dots

Fine, red to yellow staining dots observed in red blood cells infected with Plasmodium vivax or ovale.

Trophozoite

The active, feeding stage of the Plasmodium life cycle, identifiable in the bloodstream.

Recrudescence

Recurrence of malaria symptoms after a period of quiescence.

Cerebral malaria

The most serious complication of Plasmodium falciparum causing high fevers and often resulting in death.

Blackwater fever

A rare complication of malaria characterized by hemolysis and hemoglobinuria.

Merozoites

The stage that emerges from the liver and invades red blood cells in the Plasmodium life cycle.

Plasmodium malariae

A species of Plasmodium that infects old red blood cells, causing different morphological characteristics.

Plasmodium ovale

A species of Plasmodium that infects reticulocytes and has distinctive oval-shaped, ragged-edged cells.

Plasmodium vivax

A widely distributed species of Plasmodium that infects young red blood cells and causes the majority of malaria cases.

Ameboid ring form

The characteristic morphology of the trophozoite stage of Plasmodium vivax.

Babesia microti

A sporozoan infecting humans primarily in the United States, transmitted by deer ticks.

Ichodes tick

The deer tick that transmits Babesia microti.

Plasmodium species

A genus of protozoan parasites that include those causing malaria; Babesia mimics these.

Trophozoites

The active, feeding stage of a protozoan, which in Babesia microti reproduces via binary fission.

Maltese cross

A characteristic formation of Babesia trophozoites that serves as a key identifying feature.

Giemsa stain

A staining technique used to visualize blood parasites in diagnostic blood smears.

Trypanosoma species

Hemoflagellates that cause trypanosomiasis, transmitted by insect vectors.

Tsetse fly

The vector for African trypanosomiasis, which introduces Trypanosoma into the bloodstream.

Trypanosoma brucei gambiense

The causative agent of West African sleeping sickness.

Trypanosoma cruzi

The causative agent of American trypanosomiasis, also known as Chagas disease.

Tripomastigote

The diagnostic form of Trypanosoma observed in the blood and CSF.

Leishmania species

Parasites causing leishmaniasis, typically found in dogs and rodents, with humans as accidental hosts.

Amastigote

The intracellular stage of Leishmania found within macrophages and the diagnostic form.

Promastigote

The stage of Leishmania found in the sandfly vector.

Kala-azar

Visceral leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania donovani.