Answer to Case 596

Answer toParasite Case of the Week 596: Plant material; likely plant epidermis from leafy material. There appears to be a cuticle present, and part of an epidemal cell layer attached.There are several nice images of dichotomous leaf epidemal structureHERE. Mary Parker, a botanist, noted that " in aqueous conditions, I  would expect an epidermal layer to curl with the cuticle inwards (which is the case in the images) as the cuticle is waterproof and doesn ' t swell, whereas the epidermal cells would be hydrated and expand forcing the layer into a spiral. " Thank you Mary for your valuable input! Mary has also provided assistance withCase 534 in which we showed plant stomata, andCase 468 that showed banana material. Parasitologists and pathologists commonly see food material in fecal and intestinal specimens, as well as in cases of bowel rupture/fistula and food aspiration (i.e., in respiratory specimens). Therefore, it ' s helpful to have some basic familiarity with how plant material appears in routine preparations. Several writers asked if this could beEnterobius vermicularisorTrichuris trichiura.While the size and location may fit with either of these roundworms, the cuticle and attached cellular structure shows some subtle differences that are useful for excluding them. Specifically, the thick acellular roundworm cuticle is adjacent to a muscular layer, as shown in the images below. In comparison, the plant cuticle is adjacent to the boxy cells of the epidemis. I...
Source: Creepy Dreadful Wonderful Parasites - Category: Parasitology Source Type: blogs