Parasites defined----towards a common language

[Guest guest]

n, you bring up a good point. I've found it helpful to classify organisms

based on what they bring to the body. Some only take, that would be a

parasite, some live in harmony or synergy, neither taking anything nor giving

anything, and then there are a third type that is actually beneficial to the

host

organism, a win-win situation. As others have said, we couldn't live without

certain beneficial bugs inside us as people who take a lot of anti-biotics find

out.

A PARASITE, by medical dictionary definition, is any plant or animal that lives

upon or within the host at whose expense it obtains some benefit without

compensation.

In general, medical people consider viruses, bacteria and fungi as " infectious

agents " not " parasites " although they could certainly be considered as

parasitic since we support them while many of them seriously take from us.

In general and to help ease communication, the term parasite most often

refers to two main groups of invaders. First, the PROTOZOA (single-celled

organisms) which includes amoebas, flagellates like giardia and leishmania,

blood parasites like the malarial organisms, coccidia like cryptosporidium and

toxoplasma and others. It also refers to WORMS (multi-celled organisms)

such as tapeworms, roundworms, pinworms and flukes.

Will in Minnesota