92 THE ANIMAL PARASITES OF MAN 



i. Plasmodium malarice (Laveran). 



Syn. : Oscillaria malaria, Laveran, 1883 ; Plasmodium, var. quartana, 

 Golgi, 1890 ; Hcemamceba malaria, Grass! and Feletti, 1892 ; Hamamceba 

 laverani, var. quartana, Labbe, 1894; Plasmodium malaria quartanum, Labbe, 

 1899. 



This species is the cause of quartan fever, and is therefore also 

 frequently termed the QUARTAN PARASITE. Soon after the paroxysm 

 a small unpigmented body with sluggish amoeboid movement is 

 found on the red blood corpuscles. Whilst gradually growing the 

 parasite penetrates within the blood corpuscle, and about twenty- 

 four hours after the attack it commences to form the first fairly 

 coarse grains of melanin, which are mostly situated at the periphery. 

 As the pigment increases and the parasite grows forty-eight hours 

 after the attack it measures from one-half to two-thirds the size 

 of the blood corpuscle the movements become more sluggish and 

 are finally entirely arrested. Sixty hours after the first paroxysm 

 and twelve hours before the next one the plasmodia, which 

 resemble discs, completely fill the blood corpuscles and only a 



FIG. 36. The development of the quartan parasite in the red blood corpuscles 

 of man. (After Mannaberg or Golgi). 







narrow rim is left, which later on also disappears. Schizogony 

 then commences (six hours before the paroxysm) ; the grains of 

 melanin are arranged radially, and then all crowd towards the 

 centre of the disc, the peripheral part of which thereby becomes 

 pigmentless, and one observes a spoke-like design, which indicates 

 the radial segmentation of the disc ; this becomes more and 

 more distinct and finally leads to the segmentation of nine to 

 twelve pear-shaped bodies placed wheel-like the merozoites. These 

 finally separate from the central heap of melanin and from each 

 other, and by attacking fresh blood corpuscles induce the subsequent 

 paroxysm of fever. The melanin grains are taken up by the 

 leucocytes and are mostly deposited in the spleen, though also 



chiafava and Bignami, "La quotid. e la terz. est.-aut." (Rif. med., 1891, No. 217) ; " Le 

 febre mal. est.-aut." (Boll. R. Ace. med. Roma, 1892, xvii ; Dtsch. med Wochenschr., 

 1892, No. 51. Grassi and Feletti, " Contrib. allo stud. d. par. mal." (Atti Ace. Gioen. 

 Catania, 1892 [4], v., p. i ; Bastianelli and Bignami, " Sulla strutt. d. par. mal. . . ." 

 (Atti soc. stud. d. mal., 1899, i.). Further literature by Mannaberg; Grassi, Celli, Labbe, 

 Liihe, Ziemann, &c. 



