476 MALARIAL FEVER. 



development, which is completed in a period of time 

 corresponding to the type of the fever; that is,, in the 

 quotidian l in twenty-four hours, in the tertian in forty-eight 

 hours, in the quartan in seventy-two hours. In this cycle 

 the youngest forms of the parasite appear as minute rounded 

 protoplasmic bodies, which are at first free in the blood 

 plasma but afterwards become attached to and invade the 

 red corpuscles. Within the latter they gradually increase 

 in size, till at a certain period multiplication by division or 

 sporulation takes place, which results in the setting free of 

 a number of young forms ; thus the cycle is completed. 

 We may state then that there is a stage of gradual growth 

 of the parasite, which is followed by a stage of sporulation 

 or the formation of a new generation of young forms. The 

 latter stage corresponds more or less closely with the rigor 

 at the onset of the attack of fever. The parasites are 

 always most abundant in the blood during the attack of 

 fever, and in the intervals become greatly diminished in 

 number or may practically disappear. They are also as a 

 rule more abundant in internal organs than in the peri- 

 pheral blood, and in some types of fever the process of 

 sporulation is practically confined to the former. 



In addition to the forms which appear to constitute 

 stages in this regular process of development there are two 

 others, namely, the crescentic bodies and the flagellated 

 organisms. 



These different forms may now be described in more detail. 



i. The spores are the youngest and smallest forms, which 

 result from the segmentation of the adult parasite. They 

 are rounded or oval protoplasmic bodies of minute size, 

 usually not measuring much more than i //, in diameter, 

 their exact size, however, varying in the different types of 

 fever. They possess little or no amoeboid movement. 

 They remain free in the serum for a short time, but soon 

 attack the red corpuscles, when they become the intra- 

 corpuscular amoeboid bodies. 



1 A quotidian type may, however, be produced by two generations of 

 tertian parasites with a twenty-four hours' interval, etc. 



