Dissemination of leishmania to organs of mice experimentally infected with Leishmania tropica.

Swiss strain albino mice were inoculated intradermally in a shaved area above the tail with Leishmania tropica strain. The dissemination of the parasites to various organs and distant cutaneous sites was followed up to 16 weeks. The infection was detected in the metastatic foci by examination of impression smears, inoculated culture tubes containing Tanabe's medium with specimen obtained from lesions and by histopathological changes. It was found that the parasite disseminated from the site of inoculation to visceral organs namely: the liver, spleen, kidney and lung. However, no invasion of the testis was observed throughout the experiment. Metastatic cutaneous lesions occurred late in the infection and was observed only in 2 animals. Cutaneous metastatic lesions developed exclusively on the tail and the face.