The malaria parasite is introduced into the body by a mosquito bite.
First, sporozoites enter the bloodstream, and migrate to the liver. They infect liver cells (hepatocytes), where they multiply into merozoites, rupture the liver cells, and escape back into the bloodstream. Then, the merozoites infect red blood cells (erythrocytes), where they develop into ring forms, then trophozoites (a feeding stage), then multinucleated schizonts (a reproduction stage), then merozoites again. The merozoites rupture the blood cells and return to the bloodstream to infect more blood cells. Only the ring forms circulate in the bloodstream; the other red blood cells stick (adhere) to the walls (endothelium) of small blood vessels (venules), preventing the infected red blood cells from traveling to the spleen and being destroyed.
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The malaria parasite is introduced into the body by a mosquito bite.
First, sporozoites enter the bloodstream, and migrate to the liver. They infect liver cells (hepatocytes), where they multiply into merozoites, rupture the liver cells, and escape back into the bloodstream. Then, the merozoites infect red blood cells (erythrocytes), where they develop into ring forms, then trophozoites (a feeding stage), then multinucleated schizonts (a reproduction stage), then merozoites again. The merozoites rupture the blood cells and return to the bloodstream to infect more blood cells. Only the ring forms circulate in the bloodstream; the other red blood cells stick (adhere) to the walls (endothelium) of small blood vessels (venules), preventing the infected red blood cells from traveling to the spleen and being destroyed.