PARASITOLOGY LAB 1st Shifting

Amebae, Flagellates, Ciliates and Blastocystis

Parasitology
• Study of parasites
• Parasite: organism that lives and feeds in the host; harms the host; take food and
shelter from other organism and may cause harm sometimes
• Host: humans and animals
Subphylum Sarcodina: Amebae
Generalities
• Moving, usually in intestine
• Protozoans with pseudopod/footlike projection (locomotion)
• Key stages:
• Trophozoite: motile (1 direction), vegetative form, finding food;  laman ng
parasite, motility, size, cytoplasm
• Cyst: non motile, infective, reproductive stage; number of nucleus, size
and shape  and inclusion bodies (ex. chromatoidal part)
• All undergo encystation except Entamoeba gingivalis
• All amoebae live in the large intestine except E. gingivalis
• Multiplication by Binary Fission
 
INTESTINAL AMEBAE
• MOT: Ingestion of cyst
• Entamoeba histolytica: pathologic amebae (common)
• Amebic dysentery
• Trophozoite: ingested RBC, clean-looking, with karyosome (center of the
nucleus), unidirectional pseudopods
• Cyst: 4 nuclei, chromatoidal body (sausage shape structure), glycogen
vacuole (transparent, storage of energy for the cyst), thin wall

Prepared by: Pangilinan & Parades 2U-MT 1

PARASITOLOGY LAB 1st Shifting

• Other intestinal Ameba:

• Entamoeba coli
• Trophozoite: dirty looking, karyosome (eccentric), can ingest
bacteria on yeast, with pseudopods
• Cyst: nucleus (up to 8), chromatoidal body (broom stick
appearance), thick wall

• Endolimax nana: crossed eyed cyst

▪ Trophozoite: no peripheral chromatin, ingest bacteria, karyosome
▪ Cyst: 2-4 nuclei, thick wall

• Iodamoeba butschlii: iodne loving; large glycogen vacoule, swaggish

non-progressive (mabagal movement)
▪ Trophozoite: large karyosome (eccentric), acromatic granules
(surrounds the karyosome, refractile)
▪ Cyst: large glycogen vacuole
 

Prepared by: Pangilinan & Parades 2U-MT 2

PARASITOLOGY LAB 1st Shifting

AMEBAE
• Entamoeba histolytica is morphologically similar to Entamoeba dispar and
Entamoeba moshkovskii
• Manner of reporting: E. histolytica/ E. dispar
• Majority of E. histolytica infections are asymptomatic
 
FLAGELLATES
• Focus in lab will be intestinal flagellates: Giardia Lamblia and Chilomastix Mesnili
• Locomotor apparatus of flagellates is flagella
• All flagellates are commensal except Giardia lamblia, Dientamoeba fragilis and
Trichomonas vaginalis
• The three of them causes pathologic irritation
• The infective stage is cystic stage
 
GIARDIA LAMBLIA
• Habitat: Vaginalis in urogenital trunk of women, lamblia habitat: small intestine
• Left- Trophozoites stage
• Right- cystic stage
• Old man’s face
▪ Trophozoite: old man’s face with eye glasses, 8 Flagella (6 in
lateral portion and 2 in terminal portion), with stain under the
microscope, very distinct

▪ Cyst: Cell wall is thick, structures like the nucleus is still present,
with formation of other structures like axoneme is present inside,
cystic motility is falling leaf motility; parasites move
 

CHILOMASTIX MESNILI
• Single eye
• It has a distinct spiral groove in trophozoites stage
• Rotary movement (paikot), stiff rotary movement in trophozoites stage
• Pear shape for the trophozoites stage
• Lemon shape for cystic stage with hyaline knob
• Cytostome is called cell mouth
• Cytostome other term is sucking the disc that’s how they acquire it during
trophozoites stage

Prepared by: Pangilinan & Parades 2U-MT 3

PARASITOLOGY LAB 1st Shifting

CILIATES
• Apparatus for ciliates is cilla
• Balantidium Coli
• Only pathologic ciliate
• In large intestine
• Largest intestinal protozoa
• Rolling motion or rolling motility in trophozoites stage
• Thrown ball motility
• With micronucleus and macronucleus in trophozoites (macro-sausage
shape structure or kidney shape structure or bean shape)
• Arrangement of cilia: can find cilia all throughout the structure of
trophozoites stage
• Tetani bacholicyst(?) (cystic stage)- not usually seen but with
micronucleus and macronucleus and thicker cell, double wall
• Cilia- structure the surrounds the entire body, present all throughout the
body

Prepared by: Pangilinan & Parades 2U-MT 4

PARASITOLOGY LAB 1st Shifting

BLASTOCYSTIS HOMINIS
• Vacuolated forms are most commonly seen in the samples
• Vacuolated form (most common), amoeboid form and granular form
• Large vacuole at the center
• Nucleus is at the periphery
• Spherical shape
• No particular size, variable in size
• In the middle, large clear area due to presence of vacuole
• Nucleus can vary, 2-4 nuclei but present at the side or periphery of blastocystis
 DIAGNOSIS
• Direct fecal smear
• Concentration techniques
• Permanent stains
• Most of the intestinal parasites can be seen in stool
 

Prepared by: Pangilinan & Parades 2U-MT 5