Donovanosis (granuloma inguinale) is caused by Klebsiella granulomatis. Its characteristic histological finding and the stain used to demonstrate it are:
- A Donovan bodies within macrophages — Giemsa or Wright's stain on tissue smear ✓
- B Negri bodies in nerve cells — Seller's stain
- C Owl-eye cells in endothelium — haematoxylin and eosin
- D Multinucleated giant cells with intranuclear inclusions — Tzanck smear
Explanation
Donovanosis is diagnosed by demonstrating Donovan bodies — intracytoplasmic bipolar-staining encapsulated coccobacilli (resembling closed safety pins) within large mononuclear macrophages (Mikulicz cells) in tissue crush smears. Giemsa or Wright's stain is used on smears prepared from biopsy tissue or ulcer edge. Negri bodies are for rabies; owl-eye cells are a CMV cytopathic effect; Tzanck smear is for herpes simplex/varicella with multinucleated giant cells. K. granulomatis cannot be reliably cultured on standard media, making the tissue smear/PCR essential for diagnosis.
Reference: Ananthanarayan & Paniker's Textbook of Microbiology, 11th ed.
High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP
Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.