Terms Used in Relation to Malaria:
Sporozoite-The infective stage passed in the saliva of the mosquito and formed inside an oocyst by the process of sporogony.
Schizont-The stage undergoing asexual division by multiple fission or segmentation. These may be found in the lover cells (pre-erythrocytic schizonts) or in the erythrocytes (erythrocytic schizonts)
Merozoite-Is the product of division by schizogony
Trophozoite-Is the stage of the asexual form with an undivided nucleus, seen in the erythrocyte.
Microgametocyte-The male gametocyte which produces a number of microgametes.
Exflagellation-The process by which microgametes are formed from a microgametocyte.
Macrogametocyte-The female gametocyte which produces a single macrogamete.
Zygote-The fertilized ovum.
Ookinete-The motile stage of the zygote
Sporogony-The sexual phase in the life cycle of certain protozoa. In Plasmodia this takes place in the mosquito vector.
Romanowsky stain-Mixtures of methylene blue,eosin and methylene azure. Giemsa, Leishman and Wrights are examples of Romanowsky stain.
Schuffner's dots-Pinkish small and round stippling seen on P.vivax and P.ovale infected red cells, in Romanowsky stained films. They appear earlier and in greater numbers in P.ovale than in p.vivax.
Maurer's dots-Coarse and irregular stippling seen on P.falciparum infected red cells in Romanowsky stained films.
Ziemann's dots-Pinkish small dots sometimes seen in P.malariae infected red cells in Romanowsky stained films.
Incubation period-The interval between the entry of sporozoites and the first clinical manifestation.
Pre-patent period-The minimum time between the entry of sporozoites and the first appearance of parasites in red cells.
Latency-The duration between the primary attack of malaria and the relapse. There are no parasites in the circulation during this period.
Paroxysms-bouts of fever due to the liberation of merozoites during the erythrocytic schizogony.
Recrudescence-Renewed manifestation of infection due to the survival of erythrocytic forms.
Relapse(Recurrence)-Renewed manifestation of infection due to the invasion of blood by merozoites from the late pre-erythrocytic stage (previously known as secondary exo-erythrocytic stage).
Re-infection-Renewed manifestation of infection not due to the original infection but resulting from subsequent fresh infection.
