Microphotograph of Plasmodium ovale microgametocyte in Giemsa-stained thin blood film, with Schüffner's dots and hemozoin pigment

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 death. S ...

, 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 are ...

'' 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 ...

''. ''

'' 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 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 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