A historic photomicrograph of a parasite (Trichomonas vaginalis)

Knowing that Alfred Donne was the discoverer of an important human parasite , and finding that he was also a pioneer of photomicrography, it occurred t o me that his parasite might well have become a subject of his photography. It was a simple matter to confirm that this was indeed the case. The paras ite he discovered was Trichomonas vaginalis; and, in collaboration with Fou cault, Donne made a photomicrograph showing several protozoan parasites lyi ng among vaginal epithelial cells. His publication of an engraved image of the photomicrograph in 1845, was a landmark in the history of photography a nd microbiology.