Fig. 3

Images of relatively small blood parasites (smaller or equal to red blood cells in size) showing how they look in the buffy coat wet preparations (a, c, e, g, i, k, m) and methanol-fixed Giemsa-stained blood films (b, d, f, h, j, l, n). a, b Immature gametocytes of Haemoproteus sp. (arrows) inside red blood cells. c, d Haemoproteus sp. microgametocyte during exflagellation, note readily visible microgametes (simple wide arrowheads) still attached to extracellular microgametocytes (barbed arrowhead, pigment granules). e, f Haemoproteus sp. microgametes (simple wide arrowhead). g, h Extracellular rounded gametocytes of Haemoproteus sp. (left) and leucocytes (right, barbed long arrow); note that parasite can be readily distinguished from leucocytes due to presence of hemozoin pigment granules (barbed arrowhead). i, j Numerous Haemoproteus sp. ookinetes at different stages of maturation: immature (triangle wide short arrow), nearly mature and mature parasites (triangle wide long arrow) can be distinguished. Intracellular (k, l) and extracellular (m, n) Lankesterella sp. (simple long arrow); note that parasite is closely appressed to nuclei of mononuclear leucocyte (k, l). Scale-bar: 10 µm