December, 2001

Case 73
A 39-year-old man was seen by his health care provider for fever, chills, and headache he had been experiencing since a camping trip to South Carolina.  The man recalled numerous tick bites during his trip.  The physician requested a blood film examination.  The following images (Figures A, B, and C) are of Giemsa stained blood smears from the patient.  What is your diagnosis?  Based on what criteria?

A	B

C

Click here for the answer to Case 73.

Case 74
A 29-year-old woman from a rural community in the Southeastern United States was seen at a health clinic for mild abdominal discomfort and weight loss she had been experiencing over the past few months.  Her doctor requested an O & P (ova and parasites) stool examination.  An FEA (formalin-ethyl acetate) concentration procedure was performed on the woman's stool specimen and a wet mount preparation was made and examined by a laboratory technician.  The objects seen in the following images (Figures A and B) were observed in moderate numbers.  The image (Figure A) was captured using a 10× objective (100× magnification) and the image in Figure B was captured using a 40× objective (400× magnification).  The last image was cropped to show only the object of interest.  The size of the objects ranged from 50 to 60 micrometers.  What is your diagnosis?  Based on what criteria?

A	B

Click here for the answer to Case 74.

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.