Among routine microscopic methods, the permanent stained smear is generally the best choice, although they can be seen on wet mounts they are difficult to identify. As mentioned previously, several forms or stages exist. The most commonly described "body form" or "vacuolar form" is generally round, varies from 6-40 μm, and has a large central body that looks like a vacuole.
The antigenic detection method for stool that is currently in use is the ELISA. ELISA and fluorescent antibody techniques have also been developed to detect serum antibodies.
