What is sheathed microfilaria?
The microfilariae of several genera of filariae are enclosed by a flexible, bag-like structure, the ‘microfilarial sheath’, which is synthesized in a co-ordinated way by both the embryo and the uterine epithelium.
What is a microfilaria smear?
A microfilaria test involves examination of the blood smear to identify the existence of microfilariae in blood. Usually, a microfilariae blood test is conducted at night to coincide with the appearance of microfilariae.
What is the difference between filaria and microfilaria?
As nouns the difference between microfilaria and filaria is that microfilaria is (biology) the very small larva of a filarial worm while filaria is any of the parasitic nematode worms of filarioidea superfamily that live in the blood of vertebrates and is transmitted by insects: the cause of filariasis.
What is microfilariae in zoology?
The microfilaria (plural microfilariae, sometimes abbreviated mf) is an early stage in the life cycle of certain parasitic nematodes in the family Onchocercidae. In these species, the adults live in a tissue or the circulatory system of vertebrates (the “definitive hosts”).
Is O volvulus sheathed?
This microfilaria is large and has no sheath, a long head space (c) and, typically, a flexed tail (d). The column of body nuclei is only moderately compact. The most important diagnostic feature is that O. volvulus is found in the skin and only rarely in the blood.
How do I know if I have microfilariae?
The standard method for diagnosing active infection is the identification of microfilariae in a blood smear by microscopic examination. The microfilariae that cause lymphatic filariasis circulate in the blood at night (called nocturnal periodicity).
Where is microfilaria found?
The adult worm lives in the human lymph vessels, mates, and produces millions of microscopic worms, also known as microfilariae. Microfilariae circulate in the person’s blood and infect the mosquito when it bites a person who is infected. Microfilariae grow and develop in the mosquito.
What causes microfilaria?
When an infected mosquito bites a healthy person, the larvae called microfilariae move into the lymphatics and lymph nodes. Here, they develop into adult worms and may persist for years. The adult parasite, in turn, produces more microfilariae.
Is Onchocerca volvulus sheathed?
Onchocerca volvulus microfilariae from skin snips in haematoxylin (a, c, d) and Giemsa stains (b). This microfilaria is large and has no sheath, a long head space (c) and, typically, a flexed tail (d).
What is microfilaria?
Microfilaria circulate in their millions in the blood and in the lymph vessels of people suffering from FILARIASIS. When taken up by a blood-sucking insect, microfilaria mature into the larval form of the worm within the body of the insect. Want to thank TFD for its existence?
What is microfilaria nematodes?
Microfilaria. The microfilaria (plural microfilariae, sometimes abbreviated mf) is an early stage in the life cycle of certain parasitic nematodes in the family Onchocercidae. In these species, the adults live in a tissue or the circulatory system of vertebrates (the “definitive hosts” ).
How are microfilariae transmitted from one vertebrate to another?
They release microfilariae into the bloodstream of the vertebrate host. The microfilariae are taken up by blood-feeding arthropod vectors (the ” intermediate hosts “). In the intermediate host the microfilariae develop into infective larvae that can be transmitted to a new vertebrate host.
What is the difference between egg and microfilaria?
In either case, the microfilaria is the stage which develops from the egg. In most tissue-dwelling species the eggs hatch in the uterus of the female, and the unsheathed microfilariae are released.