Malaria is a life threatening disease that is typically transmitted through bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito. Peripheral smear examination is done to diagnose malarial parasite. For making a peripheral smear, a  drop of blood is applied to and spread on a glass slide. It is then stained with a special stain and examined under the microscope to identify the different types of malarial parasite. Typically, two thick and two thin smears are prepared. These tests are currently the gold standard for malaria detection and identification. All four variants of malarial parasite i.e. Plasmodium Vivax, Plasmodium Ovale, Plasmodium Malariae and Plasmodium Falciparum can be identified.