December, 1999

Case 25
The object in the following image was found in a wound on the toe of a field worker from Ecuador.  The size of this object is 640 micrometers by 350 micrometers.  What is your diagnosis?  Based on what criteria?

A

Acknowledgement: This case and image were kindly provided by the Oregon Public Health Laboratory.

Click here for the answer to Case 25.

Case 26
The following images were captured from a Wright-Giemsa stained thin blood film (100×).  The patient is a 70-year-old woman from New Jersey.  She has no history of travel outside the continental United States.  She had a fever and was disoriented ten days prior to seeking medical attention.  Her blood test at a hospital in New Jersey showed pancytopenia (low red and white blood cell counts).  One month prior to this episode, she received two units of blood during a hip operation.  What is your diagnosis?  Based on what criteria?

A	B

C

Click here for the answer to Case 26.

Images presented in the monthly case studies are from specimens submitted for diagnosis or archiving.  On rare occasions, clinical histories given may be partly fictitious.