Trichomonas vaginalis
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
| Trichomonas vaginalis | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
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| Binomial name | ||||||||||||
| Trichomonas vaginalis (Donné, 1836) |
Trichomonas vaginalis is an anaerobic and parasitic flagellated protozoan that is frequently present in the vagina in women and the urethra in men. T. vaginalis only exists in a trophozoite stage, with four flagella and a single nucleus. Trichomoniasis can occur in females (males rarely exhibit any symptoms of a T. vaginalis infection) if the normal acidity of the vagina is shifted from a healthy pH of between 3.8 and 4.2 to a much more basic range of 5.0 to 6.0 that is conducive to Trichomonas vaginalis growth. T. vaginalis can be detected by studying discharge or with a pap smear and culturing. Condoms are effective at preventing infection. Metronidazole can treat an infection in progress.
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Reference
- Tortora, Funke, and Case. Microbiology. 8th ed. San Francisco: Benjamin Cummings, 2004. ISBN: 0-8053-7613-5
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External links
- TIGR's Trichomonas vaginalis Genome Sequencing Project (http://www.tigr.org/tdb/e2k1/tvg/)
- NIH site on trichomoniasis (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001331.htm)
- Taxonomy (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=5722)
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