page_title: Entamoeba coli
section_title: Morphology
hierarchical_section_title: Entamoeba coli / Morphology
caption_attribution_description: English: Stages of the Entamoeba coli parasite.
context_page_description: Entamoeba coli is a non-pathogenic species of Entamoeba that frequently exists as a commensal parasite in the human gastrointestinal tract. E. coli is important in medicine because it can be confused during microscopic examination of stained stool specimens with the pathogenic Entamoeba histolytica. This amoeba does not move much by the use of its pseudopod, and creates a "sur place movement" inside the large intestine. Usually, the amoeba is immobile, and keeps its round shape. This amoeba, in its trophozoite stage, is only visible in fresh, unfixed stool specimens. Sometimes the Entamoeba coli have parasites as well. One is the fungus Sphaerita spp. This fungus lives in the cytoplasm of the E. coli. While this differentiation is typically done by visual examination of the parasitic cysts via light microscopy, new methods using molecular biology techniques have been developed.
  The scientific name of the amoeba, E. coli, is often mistaken for the bacterium, Escherichia coli. Unlike the bacterium, the amoeba is mostly harmless, and does not cause as many intestinal problems as some strains of the E. coli bacterium.
context_section_description: Entamoeba species all come in monogenetic forms, or having one generation lifecycles. E. coli has "three distinct morphological forms exist airing the life cycle-Trophozoite, Pre-cystic stage and Cystic stage". This lifecycle gives rise to the general way of how Entamoeba species form. This parasite has one large nucleus with a thick membrane surrounding the nucleus. There are many chromatin inside the nucleus, and one large, irregular-shaped karyosome. The chromatin is clumped, and uneven in disperse inside the nucleus. The parasite forms by binary fission like most Entamoeba spp.
  The mature cyst is the infective stage, and is known to survive longer than those of E. histolytica. The cysts can survive three to four months outside the host's body after desiccation. The cysts cause infection by consuming contaminated food and drinks like waste water. Sometimes insects and rodents carry the parasite to cause infection in the food and drinks. Excystation happens once the cysts are ingested, and travel to the large intestine.
caption: Stages of the Entamoeba coli parasite
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