Introduction to Protozoa

Question 1

Eukaryotic or Prokaryotic?

Answer 1

Eukaryotic

Question 2

Unicellular or Multicellular?

Answer 2

Unicellular

Question 3

Single hosts or multiple hosts?

Answer 3

Multiple hosts to accommodate the multiple developmental stages

Question 4

Typical size?
Give an example of a smaller form and its size
Give an example of a much larger form and its size

Answer 4

10-50µm typically
Leishmania amastigote is <10µm
Balantidium coli trophozoite is 40-200µm

Question 5

Are the organisms restricted to being either intra- or extra-cellular for their entire lifecycle, or can they be both?

Answer 5

Different lifecycle stages can differ morphologically- can be both intra and extracellular within one lifecycle

Question 6

Name the three possibles modes of transmission

Answer 6

Arthropod insect vectors
Venereal
Faecal-Oral

Question 7

Name the Kingdom

Answer 7

Protista

Question 8

Name the Phylum

Answer 8

Protazoa

Question 9

What are the 4 classes within protozoa?

Answer 9

Flagellates (leishmania, trypansoma etc)
Sporozoa (apicomplexa)
Ciliates (Balantidium coli)
Amoebae (Entamoeba, Histolytica)