macroparasite

mac·ro·par·a·site

(mak'rō-par'ă-sīt),

A parasite, such as a louse or an intestinal worm, that is visible to the naked eye.

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

macroparasite

Those parasites (e.g., helminths, arthropods) that do not multiply within their definitive host, cycling instead through transmission stages (eggs and larvae), which pass to the outside. Immune responses evoked by macroparasites are transient and depend on the parasite load; the key epidemiologic measure is the number of parasites per host.

Segen's Medical Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

macroparasite

Infectious disease A parasite–eg, helminths, arthropods–which does not multiply in its definitive host, cycling instead through transmission stages–eggs and larvae–which pass into the external environment; immune responses evoked by macroparasites are transient and depend on the parasite load. Cf Microparasite.

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.