Protozoan Parasites: The Flagellates

Question 1

Trichomonas vaginalis

*Trichomonas vaginalis trophozoite

Answer 1

disease: Trichomoniasis
symptoms: females may have intense itching,stinging pain,burning sensation during urination,and painful intercourse. Males are often asymptomatic,or they may have pain during urination: they sometimes have decreased sperm count.

Question 2

Trichomonas hominis

*Trichomonas hominis trophozoite

Answer 2

disease: Trichomoniasis
symptoms: females may have intense itching,stinging pain,burning sensation during urination,and painful intercourse. Males are often asymptomatic,or they may have pain during urination: they sometimes have decreased sperm count.

Question 3

Chilomastix mesnili

  * Chilomastix mesnili trophozoite
  * Chilomastix mesnili cyst

Answer 3

disease: No disease, but associated with diarrhea and possibly opportunistic

Question 4

Giardia lamblia

  * Giardia lamblia trophozoite
  * Giardia lamblia cyst

Answer 4

disease: Giardiasis
symptoms: nausea, foul-smelling gas,frothy diarrhea, painful cramps;stool is fatty but without blood,and the patient often loses weight.

Question 5

Trypanosoma brucei

*Trypanosoma brucei trypomastigote

Answer 5

disease: African sleeping sickness
symptoms: faulty blood clotting,arrhythmias, and atrophy of heart muscles and valves: tremors, rigid muscles; eventrually coma; death from heart failure or meningitis.

Question 6

Trypanosoma cruzi

*Trypanosoma cruzi trypomastigote

Answer 6

disease: South American sleeping sickness
symptoms: fever, chagoma, swollen lymph nodes; then myocarditis,irregular heartbeat, and enlargement of spleen, esophagus and colon. Years later, blood clots,heart failure, and eventually coma,leading to death.

Question 7

Leishmania donovani

*Leishmania donovani amastigotes

Answer 7

disease: Visceral leishmaniasis,also called kala-azar or dum-dum fever.
symptoms: fever, swollen lymph nodes-especially in neck, progressive anemia, weakness, emaciation, decreased phagocyte count. Usually fatal if untreated.

Question 8

Leishmania tropica

*Leishmania tropica promastigotes

Answer 8

disease: Cutaneous leishmaniasis also called Delhi boil, allepo button,Oriental scar
symptoms: Promastigotes in sandfly saliva enter skin cells,and convert to amastigote stage. A painless skin lesion forms, which develops a crusty scab. The lesion heals, but it leaves an ugly,disfiguring scar. some species destroy the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose ,gums and soft palate.