Exercise No. 15: Malaria Parasites
Introduction
The Genus Plasmodium contains the malarial organisms of man, other mammals, and
vertebrates. In terms of the life cycle, the asexual process schizogony occurs in the erythrocytes
and endothelial cells of the inner organs of the vertebrate host, depending on
the Plasmodium species. The sexual phase of the cycle occurs in the blood-sucking insects,
which for mammalian forms are anopheline mosquitoes while culicine mosquitoes are for the
avian forms (Taylor et al., 2016). In this exercise, you will learn to diagnose malaria based on the
parasite morphology from a blood smear.
Learning Outcomes
1. Identify the morphology of different stages of Plasmodium.
2. Formulate a process for Plasmodium diagnosis.
Materials
· Prepared slides of Plasmodium species
· Microscope with an oil-immersion objective lens
Procedure
A. Examination of the blood smear
1. Focus on the blood smear and study the location of the parasite in relation to the blood cells
(see Figure 1A-C).
2. Examine the parasite by taking note of their structures.
