Plasmodium falciparum – Mature schizont on thin blood smear (MGG stain, X1000)

France, CHU Poitiers Parasitologie-Mycologie

Mature schizonts of P. falciparum are seldom seen in peripheral blood, except in severe infection. They usually contain 20 or more tiny merozoites, which are clustered around a small dark pigment mass, and do not fill entirely the RBC.