Which description would be associated with a life cycle stage of Plasmodium malariae?

• A. 6 merozoites in a daisy-petal arrangement in a normal-sized red blood cell
• B. Banana-shaped organism in a normal-sized red blood cell
• C. Compact organism with dark pigment in an enlarged red blood cell with fimbribrated edges
• D. 18 merozoites in an enlarged red blood cell with pink dots in the cytoplasm

Answer: (A)

Plasmodium malariae is identified by the schizont stage inside a red blood cell that contains a small, fixed number of merozoites arranged in a circular rosette, giving a daisy-petal appearance. The red blood cell remains normal in size, which helps distinguish it from species that enlarge RBCs. This distinctive six-merozite rosette within a normal-sized RBC is characteristic of P. malariae schizonts. In contrast, other descriptions reflect features of different malaria species or life stages—for example, banana-shaped forms are mature gametocytes of P. falciparum, and enlarged red blood cells with different trophozoite features point to other species like P. vivax or P. ovale.