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Thick films - parasites and debris: Difference between revisions

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File:11 Mess only b.jpg|<span style="font-size:80%">'''A'''</span>|link={{filepath:11 Mess only b.jpg}}
File:11 Mess only b.jpg|<span style="font-size:80%">'''C'''</span>|link={{filepath:11 Mess only b.jpg}}
File:11 Mess only c.jpg|<span style="font-size:80%">'''B'''</span>|link={{filepath:11 Mess only c.jpg}}
File:11 Mess only c.jpg|<span style="font-size:80%">'''D'''</span>|link={{filepath:11 Mess only c.jpg}}
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Revision as of 14:36, 21 February 2025


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Recognising "debris" on thick films
The parasites on a thick film lie within a background of white cells, platelets and various red cell components that have not been fully lysed. It is important to recognise these different features (which may vary a little between films depending on thickness and staining). A film area without parasites is shown below.



Normal background elements of a thick malaria film. The neutrophil (A) is recognisable by the characteristic nuclear shape but show artefactual distortion: in this case the chromatin detail is lost and there is no visible membrane outline or granular content. A careful look at the group of structures (B) suggests that they are part of a large group of clumped platelets formed when the film was prepared. Finally, the more amorphous material (C) most likely represents fibrin clot and un-lysed red cell debris.

Additional examples are shown below.




Subtle single parasite




Two parasites with debris





3 parasites