Answer to Case 730

 Answer tothe Parasite Case of the Week 730:Acanthamoebakeratitis.As noted by Anonymous, the pictures are a perfect rendition of the “thorny”Acanthamoeba trophozoite and its polygonal cyst (acanth is New Latin, from Greek akanthos, from akanthathorn, spine). Cysts have 2 layers: a wrinkled outer layer (ectocyst) and inner layer (endocyst) that can be polygonal, spherical, hexagonal, or star-shaped.Dr. Satishkumar Krishnam further described the trophozoite as " characterized by spine like pseudopodia (acanthopodia). " Chuck Blend noted that it looks like the first few seconds of a new proto-universe forming!Thanks again to Idzi for this great case!
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs