Trichuris trichiura

Trichuris trichura egg and diatom in fecal wet mount preparation (unstained, high power). Diatoms occur in water. Their presence in fecal smears usually indicates contamination of the solutions used in preparing the smears. Diatoms may vary considerably in size and shape. The diatom here is larger in size than the adjacent Trichuris egg. The nature of the cell wall and the internal content of the diatom should suggest that the organism is not a parasite.