New York State Department of Health - Wadsworth Center - Cytohematology Proficiency Testing

Slide 074 [100X]

This slide was taken from a 26-year-old male graduate student who had recently returned from a trip to India. The parasite was identified by the submitting laboratory as Plasmodium vivax. The one infected red blood cell located in the lower right hand corner also appears to contain Schüffner's granules, which are not evident in the other two red blood cells in question. Schüffner's granules are degraded red blood cell microtubules. We asked that laboratories identify the arrowed objects, with three arrows pointing to three different cells. Therefore, parasite is the appropriate answer.

NUMBER OF LABORATORIES	% OF LABORATORIES	CELL CODE AND TYPE
468	97.9%	code: 54 Parasite
6	0.6%	code: 40 Schüffner's granules
1	0.2%	code: 32 Cabot ring
1	0.2%	code: 53 Platelet satellitosis
1	0.2%	code: 55 Yeast-Fungus

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