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parasitism

Translation
parasitism
/par"euh suy tiz'euhm, -si-/, n.
1. Biol. a relation between organisms in which one lives as a parasite on another.
2. a parasitic mode of life or existence.
3. Pathol. a diseased condition due to parasites.
4. (in some totalitarian countries)
a. unemployment or refusal to work.
b. employment in work considered nonessential by the state.
[1605-15; PARASITE + -ISM]

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Relationship between two species in which one benefits at the expense of the other.

Ectoparasites live on the body surface of the host; endoparasites live in their hosts' organs, tissues, or cells and often rely on a third organism (the carrier, or vector) to transmit them to the host. The cuckoo and cowbird practice brood parasitism, laying eggs in other birds' nests to be raised by the foster parents. In social parasitism, one type of animal parasitizes animals of the same type (e.g., one ant species on different ant species). Hyperparasitism occurs when parasites are parasitized (e.g., protozoans hyperparasitize a flea on a dog). See also predation.

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      relationship between two species of plants or animals in which one benefits at the expense of the other, sometimes without killing it. Parasitism is differentiated from parasitoidism, a relationship in which the host is always killed by the parasite; parasitoidism occurs in some Hymenoptera (ants, wasps, and bees), Diptera (flies), and a few Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths): the female lays her eggs in or on the host, upon which the larvae feed on hatching.

      Parasites may be characterized as ectoparasites—including ticks, fleas, leeches, and lice—which live on the body surface of the host and do not themselves commonly cause disease in the host; or endoparasites, which may be either intercellular (inhabiting spaces in the host's body) or intracellular (inhabiting cells in the host's body). Intracellular parasites—such as bacteria or viruses—often rely on a third organism, known as the carrier, or vector, to transmit them to the host. Malaria, which is caused by a protozoan of the genus Plasmodium transmitted to humans by the bite of an anopheline mosquito, is an example of this type of interaction. The plant disease known as Dutch elm disease (caused by the fungus Ceratocystis ulmi) can be spread by the European elm bark beetle.

      A form of parasitism called brood parasitism is practiced by the cuckoo and the cowbird, which do not build nests of their own but deposit their eggs in the nests of other species and abandon them there. Though the cowbird's parasitism does not necessarily harm its host's brood, the cuckoo may remove one or more host eggs to avoid detection, and the young cuckoo may heave the host's eggs and nestlings from the nest.

      Another form of parasitism, such as that practiced by some ants on ants of other species, is known as social parasitism. Parasites may also become parasitized; such a relationship, known as hyperparasitism, may be exemplified by a protozoan (the hyperparasite) living in the digestive tract of a flea living on a dog.

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Universalium. 2010.

  
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  • Parasitism — Par a*si tism (p[a^]r [.a]*s[imac] t[i^]z m; 277), n. [Cf. F. parasitisme.] [1913 Webster] 1. The state or behavior of a parasite; the act of a parasite. Court parasitism. Milton. [1913 Webster] 2. (Bot. & Zo[ o]l.) The state of being parasitic.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • parasitism — noun паразитизм …   Англо-русский словарь Мюллера

  • parasitism — 1> паразитизм, тунеядство 2> биол. паразитизм 3> мед. заражение паразитами 4> мед. заболевание кожи, вызванное паразитами …   Новый большой англо-русский словарь

  • Parasitism — This article is about relationship between organisms. For other uses, see Parasite (disambiguation). Brood parasitism is a form of parasitism Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism …   Wikipedia

  • parasitism — ˈpærəsaɪtɪzm сущ. паразитизм паразитизм, тунеядство (биология) паразитизм (медицина) заражение паразитами (медицина) заболевание кожи, вызванное паразитами parasitism паразитизм …   Большой англо-русский и русско-английский словарь

  • parasitism — noun a) Interaction between two organisms, in which one organism (the parasite) benefits and the other (the host) is harmed. We accused her of parasitism in taking his hard earned money for new dresses. b) A similar interaction between people …   Wiktionary

  • parasitism — noun Date: circa 1611 1. the behavior of a parasite 2. an intimate association between organisms of two or more kinds; especially one in which a parasite obtains benefits from a host which it usually injures 3. parasitosis …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • parasitism — the manner of life in which an organism lives for some period of time, to its own benefit, in or on another organism (the host) to the host s detriment, e.g. Ichthyomyzon on Esox masquiniongy; Vandellia in the gill cavity of Platystoma …   Dictionary of ichthyology

  • parasitism — n. [Gr. para, beside; sitos, food] A form of symbiosis in which the symbiont benefits from the association and causes detriment to the host …   Dictionary of invertebrate zoology

  • parasitism — (par ah si tizm) A type of symbiosis in which one organism adversely affects the other (the host), but cannot live without it …   Dictionary of microbiology