What does parasitology mean?
Parasitology is the scientific study of parasites: organisms that live on or inside another organism, called a host, and obtain nourishment at the host's expense. The field includes the identification and classification of parasites, their life cycles, the routes by which they spread, and the diseases or other effects they produce in humans and animals. Medical parasitology concentrates on parasites affecting people, while veterinary parasitology addresses those found in other animals. The term belongs primarily to academic, clinical, and biological contexts and is closely associated with research into protozoan parasites, such as Plasmodium, and parasitic worms, such as tapeworms and roundworms. Parasitology is a useful interdisciplinary subject because it connects organismal biology with medicine, public health, agriculture, and veterinary science. Its importance is especially evident in the study and control of diseases such as malaria, amoebic dysentery, leishmaniasis, and other parasitic infections.
nounThe scientific study of parasites, including their biology, life cycles, relationships with hosts, and effects on human and animal health.
- The branch of biology and medicine concerned with the study of parasites.
"Her research in medical parasitology focuses on the transmission of malaria parasites."
"The museum's parasitology collection contains specimens of parasitic worms collected from human and veterinary hosts."
"An introductory course in parasitology covers protozoan and helminth life cycles."
"The conference brought together researchers in human and veterinary parasitology."
Grammatically possible but uncommon; parasitology normally refers to a single field and is treated as a singular discipline.
"The conference brought together parasitologies focused on tropical, veterinary, and molecular research."
Its name reaches back to a Greek word for someone who eats beside another: the parasite was a dinner guest who never left.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does parasitology come from?
Parasitology combines parasite with the combining form -logy, meaning the study of a subject. Parasite comes through Latin parasitus from Greek parasitos, originally meaning “one who eats beside another,” a term associated with a person who dined at another's table without contributing the cost of the meal. The scientific discipline developed during the 19th century, and related English forms include parasitic, parasitism, and parasiticide.
How parasitology is actually used
This is a formal scientific and academic term. The discipline is normally treated as singular and uncountable, and plural forms are uncommon.
Easily confused with parasitology
Parasitology studies parasitic organisms and their relationships with hosts, whereas pathology studies disease and the changes it produces in tissues and organs.