| • | Calymmatobacterium granulomatis: gram (-) encapsulated rod (easy to remember because Donovan bodies) |
| • | rare in the U.S., endemic in tropical and subtropical environments (e.g. Africa, India, Caribbean) |
| • | mnemonic: Donovan had a beefy red body and recorded an album in-Guinale Africa |
clinical:
| • | a chronic, superficial, ulcerating disease of the genital, inguinal, and peri-anal areas |
| • | ulcer (ulcerated area): painless, with a rolled border and friable, beefy red granulation tissue-like base |
| • | ulcers bleed to the touch and are not usually associated with inguinal lymphadenopathy (vs. LGV, chancroid) |
| • | (may develop subcutaneous inguinal nodules (pseudobuboes) which are not lymph nodes) |
diagnosis:
(cannot culture, therefore touch prep of punch biopsy:)
| • | bipolar staining bacilli (Donovan bodies; safety pin) in vacuoles in the cytoplasm of large histiocytes |
| • | parasitized histiocyte ddx |
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