Eukaryote
parasite Audio
par·a·site [ par-uh-sahyt ]
Subclass of:
Invertebrates
Etymology:
Greek parasitos, which meant a guest who sponged off the rich, being formed of para beside + sitos = food
Definitions related to parasites:
  • An animal or plant that gets nutrients by living on or in an organism of another species. A complete parasite gets all of its nutrients from the host organism, but a semi-parasite gets only some of its nutrients from the host.
    NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • An organism that lives on or in a host organism, and that draws its nourishment from that host.
    NICHD Pediatric Terminology
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • Any organism that has a close, symbiotic relationship with a separate, host organism.
    NCI Thesaurus
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • Invertebrate organisms that live on or in another organism (the host), and benefit at the expense of the other. Traditionally excluded from definition of parasites are pathogenic BACTERIA; FUNGI; VIRUSES; and PLANTS; though they may live parasitically.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2021
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This content should not be used in place of medically-reviewed decision support reference material or professional medical advice. Some terms may have alternate or updated definitions not reflected in this set. The definitions on this page should not be considered complete or up to date.