Several strains of leishmania were isolated from patients suffering from cutaneous leishmaniasis in Damascus countryside; and cultured in vitro on semisolid medium (agar with rabbits blood) at first, then in monophasic RPMI-١٦٤٠ medium supplemented with ١٠٪ (v/v) heatinactivated fetal calf serum to determine the ideal conditions of culture. The types of these strains were specified as Leishmania major using isoenzymatic electrophoresis.