Malariae – Overview
Morphological assessment is a key diagnostic tool in the diagnosis of Plasmodium. It allows for a expediate diagnosis and classification of the species.
Two types of blood smears are used in malaria microscopy: thin and thick smears.
The thick smear requires mechanical lysis of red blood cells so that malaria parasites can be visualized independent of cell structures.
It is used as a screen for presence or absence of parasites and to estimate parasite density.
The thin smear is for identification of parasite species and to measure parasite density.
Identification of species is dependent on recognizing the morphological appearance of the different species which was stated in the tables below.
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