Abstract
THE parasites which cause malarial fevers in human beings belong to a very homogeneous group, other species of which are found in certain bats and birds. The life-history of the three species of this group which have been completely studied is as follows. The youngest parasites exist as amœbulæ or myxopods within the red blood corpuscles of the vertebrate host. Each amœbula possesses a nucleus and nucleolus; and its movements vary in extent and rapidity with the species, but, in the case of birds, never encroach upon the nucleus of the corpuscle. The amœbulæ increase in size; and, as they do so, tend to lose their movements and to accumulate in their ectoplasm certain black granules, the pigment or melanin, which are the product of assimilation of the hæmoglobin of the corpuscle. In from one to several days the parasites reach their highest development within the vertebrate host, and become either (a) sporocytes or (b) gametocytes.
Article PDF
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
ROSS, R. Life-History of the Parasites of Malaria. Nature 60, 322–324 (1899). https://doi.org/10.1038/060322a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/060322a0