Introduction to Medical Parasitology

An introduction to the science of medical parasitology is described in this chapter. Studying parasites is very important because of their medical, veterinary, and economic importance. Parasitic diseases represent major health problems, especially among underdeveloped countries and among immunocompromised in developed countries. A high morbidity and mortality have been reported in these countries resulting from parasitic infections. The main task of studying parasites is to control and hence prevent parasites from causing diseases. For this purpose, we have to know what a parasite is and how it can survive, evolve, and cause disease. This chapter includes the following topics necessary to start studying medical parasitology: definition and terms used in parasitology, biology of parasites, host–parasite interaction, host defense against the parasite, classification of medically important parasites, and the general outlines of diagnostic parasitology.