Amoebic dysentery in the context of "Parasitic"

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⭐ Core Definition: Amoebic dysentery

Amoebiasis, or amoebic dysentery, is an infection of the intestines caused by a parasitic amoeba Entamoeba histolytica. Amoebiasis can be present with no, mild, or severe symptoms. Symptoms may include lethargy, loss of weight, colonic ulcerations, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or bloody diarrhea. Complications can include inflammation and ulceration of the colon with tissue death or perforation, which may result in peritonitis. Anemia may develop if there is prolonged gastric bleeding.

Cysts of Entamoeba can survive for up to a month in soil or for up to 45 minutes under fingernails. Invasion of the intestinal lining may result in bloody diarrhea. If the parasite reaches the bloodstream it can spread through the body, most frequently ending up in the liver where it can cause amoebic liver abscesses. Liver abscesses can occur without previous diarrhea. Diagnosis is made by stool examination using microscopy, but it can be difficult to distinguish E. histolytica from other harmless entamoeba species. An increased white blood cell count may be present in severe cases. The most accurate test is finding specific antibodies in the blood, though the antibody test may remain positive following treatment. Bacterial colitis can result in similar symptoms.

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Amoebic dysentery in the context of Parasite

Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson characterised parasites' way of feeding as "predators that eat prey in units of less than one". Parasites include single-celled protozoans such as the agents of malaria, sleeping sickness, and amoebic dysentery; animals such as hookworms, lice, mosquitoes, and vampire bats; fungi such as honey fungus and the agents of ringworm; and plants such as mistletoe, dodder, and the broomrapes.

There are six major parasitic strategies of exploitation of animal hosts, namely parasitic castration, directly transmitted parasitism (by contact), trophically-transmitted parasitism (by being eaten), vector-transmitted parasitism, parasitoidism, and micropredation. One major axis of classification concerns invasiveness: an endoparasite lives inside the host's body; an ectoparasite lives outside, on the host's surface.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Parasite ← Parasitic ← Macroparasite ← Parasitism ← Parasites ← Micropredation ← Ectoparasitism ← Ectoparasitic ← Micropredator ← Ectoparasites
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Intestines → Parasitic → Amoeba → Entamoeba histolytica → Symptoms → Lethargy → Weight loss → Ulcerative colitis → Abdominal pain → Diarrhea → Bloody diarrhea → Amoebic colitis → Necrosis → Gastrointestinal perforation → Peritonitis → Anemia → Microbial cyst → Amoebic liver abscesses → Liver → Stool examination → Microscopy → Entamoeba → Leukocytosis → Serology → Bacterial colitis →