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Schüffner's dots refers to a hematological finding that is associated with
Schüffner's dots refers to a hematological finding that is associated with malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or deat ...
, exclusively found in infections caused by ''Plasmodium ovale
''Plasmodium ovale'' is a species of parasitic protozoon that causes tertian malaria in humans. It is one of several species of ''Plasmodium'' parasites that infect humans, including '' Plasmodium falciparum'' and '' Plasmodium vivax'' which ar ...
'' or ''Plasmodium vivax
''Plasmodium vivax'' is a protozoal parasite and a human pathogen. This parasite is the most frequent and widely distributed cause of recurring malaria. Although it is less virulent than '' Plasmodium falciparum'', the deadliest of the five huma ...
''.
''Plasmodium vivax
''Plasmodium vivax'' is a protozoal parasite and a human pathogen. This parasite is the most frequent and widely distributed cause of recurring malaria. Although it is less virulent than '' Plasmodium falciparum'', the deadliest of the five huma ...
'' induces morphologic alterations in infected host erythrocytes
Red blood cells (RBCs), also referred to as red cells, red blood corpuscles (in humans or other animals not having nucleus in red blood cells), haematids, erythroid cells or erythrocytes (from Greek ''erythros'' for "red" and ''kytos'' for "holl ...
that are visible by light microscopy
Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view objects and areas of objects that cannot be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of micr ...
in Romanowsky-stained blood smears as multiple brick-red dots. These morphologic changes, referred to as Schüffner's dots, are important in the identification of this species of malarial parasite and have been associated by electron microscopy
An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of accelerated electrons as a source of illumination. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light photons, electron microscopes have a ...
with caveolavesicle complexes along the erythrocyte plasmalemma.
They are named for Wilhelm Schüffner, who described them in 1904.
References
External links
* http://pathmicro.med.sc.edu/parasitology/blood-proto.htm * http://www.wadsworth.org/parasitology/critiquesJun05.htm Malaria {{med-sign-stub