The life cycle of Plasmodium involves multiple stages. After a mosquito bite, sporozoites enter the bloodstream and travel to the liver, where they mature and multiply. Merozoites then enter the bloodstream, infecting red blood cells, and leading to cycles of replication that cause the clinical symptoms of malaria. The parasites can also remain dormant in the liver (as hypnozoites in P. vivax and P. ovale), causing relapses.
