Skip to main content
Plasmodiidae

Plasmodiidae

9.9
A family of tiny one-celled parasites that cause malaria
  • noun
  • /plæzˈmoʊdiˌiːdə/
  • Specialized
: Plasmodiidae
  • The Plasmodiidae family comprises several species responsible for malaria in humans and animals.

Examples

  • One member of the Plasmodiidae family, Plasmodium falciparum, is especially dangerous to human health.

  • Researchers are studying the life cycle of Plasmodiidae to develop better treatments for malaria.

  • The Plasmodiidae family includes several species that cause malaria.

  • Research on Plasmodiidae has increased due to malaria outbreaks.

  • One member of the Plasmodiidae family, Plasmodium falciparum, is especially dangerous to human health.

  • Researchers are studying the life cycle of Plasmodiidae to develop better treatments for malaria.

  • The Plasmodiidae family comprises several species responsible for malaria in humans and animals.

Synonyms

family Plasmodiidae
vsPlasmodiidae
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of tiny parasites that cause malaria and spread to people by mosquito bites

is defined by containing the specific malaria-causing genus rather than host range

Compounds

family Plasmodiidae
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of tiny parasites that cause malaria and spread to people by mosquito bites

Surface Forms

Plasmodiidae singular
Plasmodiidaes plural

Morphology

Plasmodiidae = Plasmodium (opaque) = plasmodi + idae

The suffix '-idae' is a specialized taxonomic marker (family) from Latin/Greek and is not a productive, commonly-known English derivation for average learners, so the meaning is not easily inferred.

Etymology

Plasmodiidae comes from the root plasma, a Greek word meaning 'something formed', and the scientific ending -idae, which means 'family'. Think of the familiar English plasma in blood: these parasites 'form' and grow inside blood cells, so the name shows both their forming nature and that they are a family of related parasites.