Answer to Case 482

Answer: Loa loa

This great case by Dr. Green shows a gravid female worm with characteristic irregularly-spaced elevations on the cuticle called "bosses". Identification of the bosses allows the adult worm to be differentiated from the similar-appearing adults of many Dirofilaria spp. which have cuticular ridges rather than bosses. William Sears also commented on some of the other characteristic features which aid in identification: a straight buccal canal and muscular esophagus.

Several of you correctly identified the additional test that would be useful for confirming our diagnosis: examination of Giemsa-stained peripheral blood films (collected between 10am and noon) to look for characteristic sheathed microfilariae. This was done, and microfilariae were readily identified:

Note the evidence of a sheath (seen as a negative outline in this case) and nuclei that go to the tip of the tail, consistent with Loa loa microfilariae.