PROMASTIGOTE CAPTURED ON A MICROVIDEO

There are 21 species of Leishmania that can cause different diseases in humans.
These pathogens have 2 morphological states, named; Promastigotes and Amastigotes.
The amastigotes hide, from the immune system, inside macrophages. Then using the chemical resources, inside the macrophages, makes duplicates of itself.
Research scientist usually use electron microscopes to study them, since they are difficult, but not impossible, to see in regular optical microscopes.
I was lucky to have recorded a microvideo that shows a progastigote swimming in a live-blood slide I made of my blood. I do not know for sure that it is a leishmania species, nor am I sure that it is not a different pathogen than leishmania.
Here are two micrographs, from electron microscopes, not taken by me, but included here for reference.

                                  PROMASTIGOTE
 

                                AMASTIGOTE


Bellow, are 2 images I captured from the microvideo I recorded.
However, Leishmania is not the only pathogen that has promastigotes. Some Micoplasma species also have promastigotes. But due to what I believe to be amastigotes infected macrophages (from other micrographs), it is probably Leishmania.
 


 

CLICK ON THE ICON BELLOW TO PLAY THE VIDEO
Notice that the promastigote is swimming from the upper right area downward, then gets stock between the macrophage and an RBC for a few seconds, then the macrophage backs up a little and the promastigote continues his swim.

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It is difficult to capture, in a micrograph, of stained blood, a promastigote. But not impossible. Here are some samples:







REFERENCES:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leishmania
Paniker's Textbook of MEDICAL PARASITOLOGY   (8th Edition)
MEDICAL PARASITOLOGY A Self-Instructional Text (7th Edition)

CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY made ridiculously simple.  (6th Edition)

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