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Micro World

How small is Trichomonas vaginalis?

Trichomonas vaginalis is about 15 µm long.

What is measured: parasitic protozoan, cell length

Trichomonas vaginalis (15 µm) drawn to scale beside a red blood cell (7.5 µm) and a cloud droplet (20 µm)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Red blood cell (7.5 µm), Trichomonas vaginalis (15 µm) and Cloud droplet (20 µm).

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How big is that, really?

  • About 75% of the width of a cloud droplet
  • About 2× the width of a red blood cell
  • As long as about 8 E. coli bacteria end to end
  • About 4 would fit across a human hair
  • About 7 would fit across a human egg cell

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Facts about Trichomonas vaginalis

Trichomonas vaginalis swims using four forward-facing flagella and causes one of the most common non-viral sexually transmitted infections.

Source: CDC, Trichomoniasis; Parasitology textbook

Micro World

NameSizeCompared with Trichomonas vaginalis
Human Basophil12 µm0.8×
Human Dendritic Cell15 µmsame size
Trichomonas vaginalis15 µmthis page
Human Astrocyte15 µmsame size
Human Kupffer Cell15 µmsame size
Human Chondrocyte15 µmsame size
HeLa Cell20 µm1.3×
Cellulose Fiber20 µm1.3×
Human Erythroblast20 µm1.3×
Human Goblet Cell20 µm1.3×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Trichomonas vaginalis or Human Basophil?

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