schizont
Quick Summary
A schizont is a multinucleated protozoan that reproduces through schizogony. Schizogony is a form of asexual reproduction where a single cell divides multiple times to produce many new individuals. This process is characteristic of sporozoans, such as the malaria parasite Plasmodium.12
In the life cycle of Plasmodium, after an infected mosquito bites a human, immature parasites called sporozoites travel to the liver. There, they mature into schizonts. Each schizont then undergoes schizogony, dividing into numerous merozoites. These merozoites are released, invade red blood cells, and repeat the cycle of multiplication and destruction. This complex life cycle allows parasitic protozoans to reproduce in high numbers to increase the probability of finding new hosts.34
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
malariaThe course of the diseaseā¦mature into forms known as schizonts. Over the next one to two weeks each schizont multiplies into thousands of other forms known as merozoites. The merozoites break out of the liver and reenter the bloodstream, where they invade red blood cells, grow and divide further, and destroy the blood cellsā¦
Read Moreā¦mature into forms known as schizonts. Over the next one to two weeks each schizont multiplies into thousands of other forms known as merozoites. The merozoites break out of the liver and reenter the bloodstream, where they invade red blood cells, grow and divide further, and destroy the blood cellsā¦
Read More- artemisinin
ā¦targets Plasmodium organisms in the schizont stage of development. Schizonts, which mature from sporozoitesāthe form of parasite transmitted to humans in the saliva of Anopheles mosquitoesācontain insoluble iron called hemozoin. Hemozoin is formed within schizonts as they feed on hemoglobin in the cytoplasm of human red blood
Read Moreā¦targets Plasmodium organisms in the schizont stage of development. Schizonts, which mature from sporozoitesāthe form of parasite transmitted to humans in the saliva of Anopheles mosquitoesācontain insoluble iron called hemozoin. Hemozoin is formed within schizonts as they feed on hemoglobin in the cytoplasm of human red blood
Read More