Question

Schuffner’s dots occur in
A)Amoeboid trophozoite
B)Signet ring trophozoite
C)Rosette trophozoite
D)Infected RBC

Answer 1

Hint: A hematological finding that is associated with malaria, exclusively found in P. ovale or P. vivax which cause infections, and after staining with Romanowsky stains these dots are characterized as fine, round, uniformly red, red yellow-colored.

Complete answer:
Let us first study the options to find out the correct answer:
Option A: In amoeboid trophozoite, schuffner’s does not occur and in infected RBCs of the host when the host gets infected by the malarial parasite i.e., P. vivax then these dots are present in the host as amoeboid trophozoite is a developmental stage of P. vivax. Therefore, this is an incorrect answer.

Option B: In the early stage of trophozoite development of the malarial parasite, the signet ring stage of trophozoite present in the red blood cells, so the schuffner's dots do not occur in the signet ring trophozoite but they occur in RBCs. Therefore, this is an incorrect answer.

Option C: The developmental stage of the malarial parasite i.e., Plasmodium malariae is known as rosette trophozoite. In this stage in the clump of pigment in the center, the schizonts will have 8-10 merozoites that are present in a rosette pattern. Therefore, this is an incorrect answer.

Option D: In the RBCs of the infected host, P. vivax and P. ovale are the malarial parasites that produce morphological alterations and after staining these are shown as brick red dots and occur in infected RBCs. therefore, this is the correct answer.

Hence, the correct answer is option (D)

Note: Schuffner's dots are morphological changes in the RBCs which are done by P. vivax and P. ovale and are very important for the identification of the species of the malarial parasite. The other symptoms of malaria include,
1)Fever
2)Diarrhoea
3)Vomiting
4)Headache