Paper II
2021 December (Supplementary) (2010 Scheme) · 40 marks · 120 min

Question

Draw neat labeled diagram of microfilaria bancrofti

Q132 marksShort Notes

Answer

A labelled diagram cannot be rendered in this text-based answer; the description below covers the key structural/labelling features.

Microfilaria of Wuchereria bancrofti (the microfilarial larval stage found in peripheral blood):

  • Sheath: present, and stains pink with Giemsa stain (an important distinguishing feature from Brugia malayi, whose sheath stains poorly/does not take up Giemsa well).
  • Overall shape: long, thin, thread-like, gracefully curved (without sharp secondary kinks — distinguishing it from Brugia, which shows secondary kinks along its body).
  • Cephalic space: short (length approximately equal to its width) — a key labelling point distinguishing it from Brugia malayi, which has a longer cephalic space (length about twice the width).
  • Nuclear column: the body contains a column of somatic nuclei that do NOT extend to the tip of the tail — the tail tip is free of nuclei, a critical distinguishing feature from Brugia malayi, which characteristically shows two distinct, separate terminal nuclei at the tail tip.
  • Excretory pore and cell, nerve ring: present as standard internal structures visible along the body, at their characteristic positions from the anterior end.

Clinical/diagnostic labelling significance: the combination of (1) sheath staining pink with Giemsa, (2) short cephalic space, and (3) absence of nuclei at the tail tip together differentiate W. bancrofti microfilariae from B. malayi on a stained peripheral blood smear — the standard basis for species-level diagnosis of lymphatic filariasis by microscopy.

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