Malaria classification

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Classification by Plasmodium Strain

The following Plasmodium strains are the most common strains implicated in human malarial infection.

Strain	Appearance of Erythrocyte (RBC)	Appearance of Parasite	Clinical Findings
P. falciparum	*Normal appearance with Maurer's clefts: Ring, trophozoite, and schizont forms. Distorted appearance: Gametocyte form	*Chromatin dots and "appliqué" (accolé): Ring form Clump of mass and dark pigment: Trophozoite and schizont forms Crescent or sausage shape: Gametocyte form	*Normal appearance with Maurer's clefts: Ring, trophozoite, and schizont forms. Distorted appearance: Gametocyte form	*Chromatin dots and "appliqué" (accolé): Ring form Clump of mass and dark pigment: Trophozoite and schizont forms Crescent or sausage shape: Gametocyte form
P. vivax	*Normal with fine Schüffner dots: Ring form Enlarged with fine Schüffner dots: Trophozoite, schizont, and gametocyte forms	*Large cytoplasm with pseudopods: Ring form Large ameboid cytoplasm with yellow-brown pigment: Trophozite form Large mass that fills all RBC with yellow-brown coalescent pigment: Schizont Large mass that fills all RBC with scattered brown pigment: Gametocyte	*Normal with fine Schüffner dots: Ring form Enlarged with fine Schüffner dots: Trophozoite, schizont, and gametocyte forms
P. ovale	*Normal with fine Schüffner dots	*Sturdy cytoplasm and large chromatin: Ring form Compact cytoplasm with dark-brown pigment: Trophozoite form Large nuclei clustered around mass of dark-brown pigment: Schizont form Round to oval form that fills all RBC with scattered brown pigment: Gametocyte form	*Normal with fine Schüffner dots
P. malariae	Normal with Ziemann's stippling	*Sturdy cytoplasm and large chromatin: Ring form Compact cytoplasm with occasional band forms and coarse dark-brown pigment: Trophozoite form Large nuclei clustered around mass of coarse, dark-brown pigment and occasional rosettes: Schizont form Round to oval form that fills all RBC with scattered brown pigment: Gametocyte	Normal with Ziemann's stippling
P. knowlesi	Normal with Sinton and Mulligan stippling	*Delicate cytoplasm with appliqué (accolé) forms: Ring form Compact cytoplasm and large chromatin with band forms and dark-brown pigment: Trophozoite form Segmented with large nuclei around mass of coarse brown pigment and occasional rosettes: Schizont form Round to oval form that fills all RBC with scattered brown pigment: Gametocyte	Normal with Sinton and Mulligan stippling