Gametocytes of Plasmodium falciparum in the megakaryocytes.

Abstract

which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. A 50-year-old woman presented with fever for 1 week, with mild splenomegaly and anemia. Hematological examination showed pancytopenia, but peripheral blood smear examination showed no evidence of parasite. Because of pan-cytopenia, the patient was subjected to bone marrow examination. The bone marrow aspirate was normocellular, but showed the presence of few gametocytes of Plasmodium falciparum. An interesting feature was the presence of gametocytes within the cytoplasm of megakaryocyte (A; Jenner Giemsa; ×1,000) (B; Jenner Giemsa; ×400). Careful examination of the smear showed that the gametocyte and the megakaryocyte were on the same plane; this excluded the possibility of overlap of the gametocyte over the megakaryocyte. The presence of the gametocyte within the megakaryocytic cytoplasm is very unusual and, to the best of our knowledge, has not been reported in the literature.