Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites

This week's case is generously donated by Florida Fan, as was just submitted to his lab last month for identification. I love the artist...

Answer:   Ixodes sp. tick Thank you for all of the great responses on this case. As Henry, RastaBob, Eagleville, Lee, and Khalid mentioned...

The following are photos of kidney biopsies from a Mexican man with HIV. Diagnosis? Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E), 40x   H&E,...

Answer: Visceral leishmaniasis involving the kidney The diagnosis in this case is made by identifying  Leishmania  amastigotes within tiss...

This week's case is from a new slide I ordered through Carolina Biological Supplies and was very pleased with what I received. These lit...

Answer: This is a copepod, a microscopic crustacean found in both fresh and salt water habitats.  Cyclops , (shown here) is one of the most ...

Here is another 'alive and wriggling" case that just came through my lab. The specimen type is skin scrapings. Identification? (tak...

Answer: Sarcoptes scabei , the human "itch mite." You can identify this tiny mite by its overall shape including characteristic ...

This case just came through my lab - alive and wrigglin'! It was removed from the scalp from 60-year-old woman. No travel history was pr...

Answer:  Dermatobia hominis , the "human botfly" This myiasis-causing fly larva (maggot) has a distinctive appearance, with a r...