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Plasmodium
(plaz-mo´de-әm)
the malarial parasites, a genus of protozoa (suborder Haemosporina, order Eucoccidiida), parasitic in the red blood cells of humans and other animals. The organism is
transmitted in sporozoite form to the bloodstream of humans by the bite of anopheline mosquitoes. The parasites migrate directly to the liver, where
they develop and multiply within the hepatic cells and become merozoites; these eventually burst the hepatic cells and invade erythrocytes. Some merozoites develop into gametocytes, which are ingested by mosquitoes, to complete the life cycle by going through a sexual stage that ends with the development
of new sporozoites. Four species, P. falci´parum, P. mala´riae, P. ova´le, and P. vi´vax, cause the four specific types of human malaria.
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