Parasitology
From ArticleWorld
Parasitology is the study of parasites, the hosts they infest and the symptoms they cause in the host. There are plant and animal hosts and plant, animal or protozoan parasites. The study of parasitology involves the fields of ecology, cell biology, immunology and medicine.
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Animal parasitology
Parasitologists, as a whole, are scientists who study the field of parasites. Medical parasitology is perhaps the biggest field. These scientists study the modes of transmission of diseases like Giardia, roundworms and tapeworms, all of which infect the intestinal tract. They also study ways to treat or reduce infestations of external parasitic infections such as lice. Areas such as the development of new drugs and the epidemiology of disease are also studied extensively.
Veterinary parasitology
Veterinary parasitology studies those diseases that afflict animals, particularly those infecting livestock, fish and poultry. Diseases such as blowfly infections are caused by the species, Lucilia cericata. This infestation involves the laying of eggs onto the skin of livestock that mature into maggots and burrow into the flesh of the animal. This infection and others that infect foods we eat can have great economic impact.
Parasite ecology
The study of parasite ecology often attempts to understand the life cycle of parasites and how they are transmitted to the host organisms. For example, the life cycle of Trichinella species involves spores encased in hardened shells inside the meat of infected animals. Once inside the stomach, the hardened shell is dissolved and the larvae are released. Once mature, adult female worms lay eggs that mature into tiny larvae that travel outside of the intestine and into the arteries where they settle into the muscle cells and form cysts. If the muscle of a human with Trichinosis is biopsied, small larva-encased cysts can be found.
Other studies
Some parasitologists simply study the types of parasites and identify new ones through the use of DNA technology. Others are concerned with discovering new drugs that can help those infected with these kinds of organisms.