parasite

parasite,

plant or animal that at some stage of its existence obtains its nourishment from another living organism called the host. Parasites may or may not harm the host, but they never benefit it. They include members of many plant and animal groups, and nearly all living things are at some time hosts to parasitic forms. Many bacteria are parasitic on external and internal body surfaces; some of these invade the inner tissues and cause disease (e.g., typhoid fevertyphoid fever
acute, generalized infection caused by Salmonella typhi. The main sources of infection are contaminated water or milk and, especially in urban communities, food handlers who are carriers.
..... Click the link for more information. , tuberculosistuberculosis
(TB), contagious, wasting disease caused by any of several mycobacteria. The most common form of the disease is tuberculosis of the lungs (pulmonary consumption, or phthisis), but the intestines, bones and joints, the skin, and the genitourinary, lymphatic, and
..... Click the link for more information. , and some types of pneumonia). Parasitic plants cause great losses among food crops and trees (see diseases of plantsdiseases of plants.
Most plant diseases are caused by fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Although the term disease is usually used only for the destruction of live plants, the action of dry rot and the rotting of harvested crops in storage or transport is similar to the rots
..... Click the link for more information. ). Parasites are more prevalent in the animal and protist kingdoms; most are invertebrates, chiefly worms, e.g., the flukefluke,
parasitic flatworm of the trematoda class, related to the tapeworm. Instead of the cilia, external sense organs, and epidermis of the free-living flatworms, adult flukes have sucking disks with which they cling to their hosts and an external cuticle that resists digestion
..... Click the link for more information. , tapewormtapeworm,
name for the parasitic flatworms forming the class Cestoda. All tapeworms spend the adult phase of their lives as parasites in the gut of a vertebrate animal (called the primary host).
..... Click the link for more information. , and trichina (see trichinosistrichinosis
or trichiniasis
, parasitic disease caused by the roundworm Trichinella spiralis. It follows the eating of raw or inadequately cooked meat, especially pork.
..... Click the link for more information. ); arthropods, e.g., the fleaflea,
common name for any of the small, wingless insects of the order Siphonaptera. The adults of both sexes eat only blood and are all external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas have hard bodies flattened from side to side and piercing and sucking mouthparts.
..... Click the link for more information. and louselouse,
common name for members of either of two distinct orders of wingless, parasitic, disease-carrying insects. Lice of both groups are small and flattened with short legs adapted for clinging to the host.
..... Click the link for more information. ; and protozoans. Among the protozoanprotozoan
, informal term for the unicellular heterotrophs of the kingdom Protista. Protozoans comprise a large, diverse assortment of microscopic or near-microscopic organisms that live as single cells or in simple colonies and that show no differentiation into tissues.
..... Click the link for more information. parasites that cause human disease are Amoeba (or Entamoeba) histolytica, the cause of amebic dysenterydysentery
, inflammation of the intestine characterized by the frequent passage of feces, usually with blood and mucus. The two most common causes of dysentery are infection with a bacillus (see bacteria) of the Shigella group, and infestation by an ameba,
..... Click the link for more information. and liver abscess, and the several species of Plasmodium responsible for the three main types of malariamalaria,
infectious parasitic disease that can be either acute or chronic and is frequently recurrent. Malaria is common in Africa, Central and South America, the Mediterranean countries, Asia, and many of the Pacific islands.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Most parasites are obligate; i.e., they are unable to survive apart from their hosts. Often this is because in the course of evolution they have lost various of the organs necessary to live as independent units. Many parasites also have extremely specialized reproductive systems and complex life cycles, involving more than one host. Some higher plants and animals are parasitic, e.g., the dodders (vines of the morning glory family) and the cuckoo and the cowbird, which lay their eggs in the nests of other birds.

An epiphyteepiphyte
or air plant,
any plant that does not normally root in the soil but grows upon another living plant while remaining independent of it except for support (thus differing from a parasite).
..... Click the link for more information. , or air plant, although it lives in association with another plant, is not a parasite. Organisms that obtain their nourishment from dead organic matter, e.g., mushrooms, are called saprophytessaprophyte
, any plant that depends on dead plant or animal tissue for a source of nutrition and metabolic energy, e.g., most fungi (molds) and a few flowering plants, such as Indian pipe and some orchids.
..... Click the link for more information. or saprobes. See also symbiosissymbiosis
, the habitual living together of organisms of different species. The term is usually restricted to a dependent relationship that is beneficial to both participants (also called mutualism) but may be extended to include parasitism, in which the parasite depends upon
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See R. Drisdelle, Parasites (2010).

Parasite

an organism that feeds on and usually harms another organism, which is called the host. A distinction is made between zooparasites, including protozoans, helminths, arachnids, and insects, and phytoparasites, including bacteria, fungi, and some higher plants. Viruses are also classified as parasites.

Parasites are found in all taxonomic groups except echinoderms, brachiopods, most chordates, mosses, ferns, and gymnosperms. Bacteria, actinomycetes, plants, and animals of all taxonomic groups may serve as hosts. Parasites weaken and exhaust the host and often kill it. Some parasites require a succession of two or three hosts on which to complete their life cycle.

Parasites arose in the course of evolution from free-living forms. In adapting to their new living conditions, their internal organization was simplified, and they acquired special organs for attachment, in addition to well-developed sex organs. Anaerobic respiration enables parasites to exist in environments that lack oxygen. Many parasites cause diseases of man, animals, and plants.

B. E. BYKHOVSKII

parasite

[′par·ə‚sīt] (biology) An organism that lives in or on another organism of different species from which it derives nutrients and shelter. (electricity) Current in a circuit, due to some unintentional cause, such as inequalities of temperature or of composition; particularly troublesome in electrical measurements.

parasite

an animal or plant that lives in or on another (the host) from which it obtains nourishment. The host does not benefit from the association and is often harmed by it

parasite

Unsolicited software that is installed in a computer without users realizing it. There are many different types. Parasites can report Web browsing habits to a marketing company over the Internet (see spyware) or change browser settings to point to a specific site. They can redirect search engine results to a site that sells a related product, and they can cause premium services to be dialed up.

Read the License Agreement
Parasites are often installed with freeware, and the license agreement may actually say so, but hardly anyone reads it. Sometimes, users can opt out of installing the parasite and install only what they wanted in the first place. Be sure security settings are set to medium at least, and never click "Yes" to any dialog that asks "do you want to run" or "execute" something unless you know what that something is. ActiveX controls on the Web cannot only install parasites but viruses as well.

Parasites often do not include an uninstall function and may not be easily removed, although anti-parasite programs can detect and remove them (see spyware blocker).

Parasite

parasite

[par´ah-sīt] 1. a plant or animal that lives upon or within another living organism at whose expense it obtains some advantage; see also symbiosis. Parasites include multicelled and single-celled animals, fungi, and bacteria, and some authorities also include viruses.Those that feed upon human hosts can cause diseases ranging from the mildly annoying to the severe or even fatal. (See accompanying table.)

Types of parasites.2. fetus" >parasitic fetus. adj., adj parasit´ic.accidental parasite one that parasitizes an organism other than the usual host.facultative parasite one that may be parasitic upon another organism but can exist independently.incidental parasite accidental parasite.malarial parasite Plasmodium.obligate parasite (obligatory parasite) one that is entirely dependent upon a host for its survival.periodic parasite one that parasitizes a host for short periods.temporary parasite one that lives free of its host during part of its life cycle.

par·a·site

(par'ă-sīt), Do not confuse this word with pericyte.1. An organism that lives on or in another and draws its nourishment therefrom. 2. In the case of a fetal inclusion or conjoined twins, the usually incomplete twin that derives its support from the more nearly normal autosite. [G. parasitos, a guest, fr. para, beside, + sitos, food]

parasite

(păr′ə-sīt′)n. Biology An organism that lives and feeds on or in an organism of a different species and causes harm to its host.

parasite

Infectious disease 1. A disease-causing organism.2. An organism with an obligatory dependence on a host, to the host's detriment. See Microparasite, Opportunistic parasite.

par·a·site

(par'ă-sīt) 1. An organism that lives on or in another and draws its nourishment therefrom. 2. In the case of a fetal inclusion or conjoined twins, the usually incomplete twin that derives its support from the more nearly normal autosite. [G. parasitos, a guest, fr. para, beside, + sitos, food]

parasite

An organism that lives on or in the body of another living organism, and depends on it for nutrition and protection. Ectoparasites live on the surface, endoparasites live inside. Parasites do not contribute to the host's welfare and are often harmful. Human parasites, which cause thousands of diseases, include VIRUSES, BACTERIA, FUNGI, PROTOZOA, WORMS, FLUKES, TICKS, LICE, BUGS, some burrowing FLIES and LEECHES.

parasite

an organism that lives in association with, and at the expense of, another organism, the host, from which it obtains organic nutrition. Those that live on the outside of the host, such as ticks, are called ectoparasites, while others such as tapeworms that live inside the host are called endoparasites. Parasites can be FACULATIVE or OBLIGATE and have a range of effects, from inflicting minimum harm to the host which continues to live and reproduce normally (the best-adapted parasites, e.g. TAPEWORMS), to causing the death of the host (e.g. Malaria parasite). COEVOLUTION may occur between host and parasite. See also BIOTROPHIC, NECROTROPHIC.

Parasite

An organism that lives in or with another organism, called the host, in parasitism, a type of association characterized by the parasite obtaining benefits from the host, such as food, and the host being injured as a result.Mentioned in: Antihelminthic Drugs, Antimalarial Drugs, Antiprotozoal Drugs, Babesiosis, Brucellosis, Chagas' Disease, Cryptosporidiosis, Cyclosporiasis, Fluke Infections, Stool O & P Test, Vulvovaginitis

par·a·site

(par'ă-sīt) An organism that lives on or in another and draws its nourishment therefrom. [G. parasitos, a guest, fr. para, beside, + sitos, food]

Patient discussion about Parasite

Q. is an Amoeba dangerous?? and how can i get rid of it? my son is in Peru, he called and told me he got an Amoeba..i have no idea if it's dangerous or not, and how to get rid of it. and what kinds of food he needs to avoid.I'll appreciate help!A. oooo...an Amoeba is a nasty one...but not so dangerous! it's a one celled parasite which gets into your body if you eat in restaurants that the cook doesn't wash hands after going to the bathroom..it multiplies in your intestine and makes you diarrhea like hell. but if you'll treat it right it will go away as nothing happened. if you don't it can give you liver cyst. and that's not good. he should see a Dr.

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Synonyms for parasite

noun sponger

Synonyms

Synonyms for parasite

noun one who depends on another for support without reciprocating

Synonyms

Synonyms for parasite

noun an animal or plant that lives in or on a host (another animal or plant)

Related Words

Antonyms

noun a follower who hangs around a host (without benefit to the host) in hope of gain or advantage

Synonyms

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