Red blood cell morphology in falciparum malaria

The morphology of the erythrocyte in Plasmodium falciparum infection is still obscure. In a study of 27 cases, uninfected erythrocytes were found to be thinner, but greater in diameter and surface area, than such cells in 10 normal individuals. The changes were not correlated with the severity of the disease or the degree of reticulocytosis. Megaloblastic anaemia was not present in the malaria cases.