There are different kinds of relationships that exist between organisms: man, animals, and plants. There’s what you call a mutual relationship, where both organisms involved benefit from each other. Commensalism, on the other hand, refers to how one organism benefits from the other while the other is left unaffected. Parasitism describes the nature of how one organism depends on another organism, which is usually referred to as the host, for its survival. It can do something bad to the host.

In the field of science, a parasitical study, as well as the relationships between the host and the parasite, is called parasitology. For you to study the nature of parasites, you need the aid of a microscope since majority of them are not visible by the human eye.

What is a parasite?

When an organism resides most of its life in another organism, particularly in its tissue, the attached organism is referred to as a parasite. It may cause damage to the host, though the negative result may not be that sudden. Parasites can easily adapt to the host as well as the surrounding environment of the host. That’s why they tend to live long.

Common Parasites

Studies reveal that every living species contains one or more parasites. Thus, parasites do exceed by number compared to living organisms. These are the common parasites that can live in a human host:

Entamoeba Histolytica

This is a type of pathogen that thrives in human tissues. It can enter the body through the mouth or through your anus. It can be acquired if you drink contaminated water and food. When you are inflicted with entamoeba histolytica, it can cause you amoebic dysentery, which is characterized by abdominal pain, diarrhea, and blood in your stool.

Sometimes the organism can penetrate into the walls of your intestine and starts to affect other organs of your body. When it does, the disease may turn into worse, which can even lead to death.

Worms

There are many types of worms that can live in your body. Tapeworms, for example, find nutrients in the digestive tract of its host. Meanwhile, hookworms can enter into your body through the pores of your feet, especially if you set foot on soil that is contaminated by such type of worm. It will then find its sway into the lungs as it travels together with your blood. When it is swallowed and coughed up, it will then enter into the digestive system of the host.
The pinworms, on the other hand, can enter into your body through your mouth. Since pinworms may thrive first in contaminated clothing, eggs of pinworms can be inhaled through the nose or through the mouth. The eggs are hatched in your perianial skin, which may cause itching.

Balantinium Coli

It is just a single cilium that may cause diarrhea. It goes through the mucous of your intestines. A human may catch it if he is exposed to feces of pigs. It may also be passed on from one person to another through contaminated water.

Lice

A louse is an insect that could have lived through dirty habitats. It can transfer from one host to another through human contact. Lice survive by sucking the blood coming from the bitten skin. The hair is also their favorite place to lay nits, their eggs. Nits are much more difficult to remove from the hair than lice because the former release a sticky substance that attaches the eggs to the scalp.

Studying Organisms

When you are going to study how parasites affect the host and vice versa, you need the aid of microscopes such as a digital biological microscope, as well as a sample or culture of such bacteria:
Amoebiasis

When you are suffering from amoebic dysentery or intestinal amoebiasis, you need to be tested with the presence of entamoeba histolytica. The process requires the examination of your feces with the use of microscopes. This is to verify if there are cysts present. The culture is placed in a plain container. The scraping as well as the entire examination should be performed an hour after the sample is brought into the laboratory.

Amoebic Keratitis

The organism called Acanthamoeba spp can cause amoebic keratits. Diagnosis can be accomplished with the aid of a sample culture as well as a microscope.

Babesiosis

Normally, the person infected with babesiosis suffers from fever, which signifies the intense presence of the parasite. However, since it can attack even without the occurrence of fever, you should examine your blood immediately.

Parasitology is a very interesting field to venture into as everybody does get affected with parasites. If you think there’s more you need to know about the subject, click on digitalbiologicalmicroscopes.com.