Case 7
| This is a smear from a bone marrow aspirate demonstrating small ovoid amastigotes of Leishmania donovoni. The amastigotes have a prominent nucleus; a rod-shaped kinetoplast can be seen in some of them. There are three forms of leishmaniasis based upon geographic location and clinical manifestations, but all have a similar morphologic appearance in tissues. L. donovoni mainly involves the reticuloendothelial system and produces visceral leishmaniasis characterized by hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy, pancytopenia, fever, and cachexia. The insect vector is the sand fly. This disease is distributed in parts of South America, Africa, the Mediterranean basin, and Asia.
| Our winner is: Mauricio Sergio Brasil Leite of Goiania, Goias, BRASIL
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