Parasite-host relationships during the development of Eimeria dispersa Tyzzer 1929, in the turkey (Meleagris gallopavo gallopavo) with a description of intestinal intra-epithelial leucocytes.

An electron microscopical study was made on the development of Eimeria dispersa in the small intestine of the domestic turkey. Turkey poults, 10-14 days of age, were inoculated with oocysts and pieces of intestinal tissue were fixed at intervals between 3.5 and 114 h after inoculation. Sporozoites were occasionally seen in enterocytes but more often in 'pale' cells closely resembling lymphocytes. These cells were insinuated between enterocytes and in this study are referred to as intestinal intra-epithelial leucocytes (IEL). Maturation of the first-generation of schizogony occurred in this type of cell. Other generations of schizonts and gametogony occurred in epithelial cells and were characterized by the presence of 'spines' arranged around the parasitophorous vacuole extending into the cytoplasm of the host cell. A limited study of the parasite in the Bobwhite quail, Colinis virginianus, showed that development occurred in similar cells to those of the turkey. The 'spines', which were characteristic of later stages of E. dispersa in the turkey, were also present in this host and seemed to be a characteristic of E. dispersa, not of the host species.