Malaria has more parasite forms than most students expect. Each appears in the animation at the moment it is needed.
- Plasmodium
- The protozoan parasite genus that causes malaria. P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. ovale, P. malariae, and P. knowlesi infect humans.
- Anopheles
- The mosquito genus that transmits malaria. Only females bite; they require blood for egg development.
- Sporozoite
- The slender infectious form injected by the mosquito. Travels to the liver.
- Hepatocyte
- A liver cell. Malaria parasites use hepatocytes for the first hidden multiplication stage.
- Hypnozoite
- A dormant liver-stage form in P. vivax and P. ovale that can reactivate months or years later, causing relapse.
- Schizont
- A multi-daughter-cell parasite stage. When it ruptures it releases invasive merozoites.
- Merozoite
- The invasive form that enters red blood cells to begin the erythrocytic cycle.
- Trophozoite
- A growing blood-stage parasite form inside the red blood cell. The ring form is an early trophozoite.
- Erythrocytic cycle
- The repeating blood-cell invasion, growth, rupture, and reinvasion cycle. Synchronous rupture drives fever spikes.
- Gametocyte
- The sexual blood-stage form. Must be taken up by a mosquito to continue development.
- Ookinete
- A motile mosquito-stage form that traverses the midgut wall.
- Oocyst
- A wall-bound mosquito-stage form that produces thousands of sporozoites.