The Morphology and Behavior of Living Exoerythrocytic Stages of Plasmodium gallinaceum and P. fallax and Their Host Cells

Abstract

The morphology and behavior of living exoerythrocytic stages of Plasmodium gallinaceum and P. fallax were studied by the use of tissue cultures, phase contrast microscopy, and time-lapse cinephotomicrography. The morphology of exoerythrocytic stages of these two species was essentially that previously observed in fixed, stained material, with the following exceptions: (1) the presence of a filament on one end of the merozoite, (2) the absence of clefts in the cytoplasm of the large schizonts, and (3) the absence of a vacuole-like space around the parasite.