piroplasma

English

A typical piroplasma: pear-shaped cells of a Babesia species infecting the blood cells of a horse

Alternative forms

• piroplasm

Etymology

From Latin pirum (“pear”) + Ancient Greek πλάσμα (plásma, “image, formation”).

Noun

piroplasma (plural piroplasmas or piroplasmata)

1. (epidemiology, microbiology) Babesia, a genus of hematozoa that invades the red blood cells of humans and domesticated animals such as dogs and sheep
   • 1895, Entomological Pamphlets: Slingerland Collection.‎^[2]:

     It has been known for some years past that Piroplasma in the digestive tube of an adult female tick can give rise to infection in the offspring of that female, so that one generation of ticks can acquire the parasites from cattle, and the next generation can transmit the disease to other cattle

2. Any of many other parasitic protozoa related to Babesia in order Piroplasmida
   • 2011, Jan Votýpka, Piroplasmorida, Tree of Life Web Project:

     Present systematics of piroplasms is based almost entirely upon criteria derived from taxonomic interpretation of a combination of morphology of the intraerythrocytic stages, host specificity, vector, mode of pathogenesis and pathogenicity, cross-immunity, frequency of schizonts and piroplasms, and spatial distribution

Related terms

• piroplasmic

Further reading

• “piroplasma”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• piroplasma on Wikipedia.Wikipedia