flea
[fle] a small, wingless, bloodsucking insect. Many fleas are ectoparasites and may act as disease carriers; they act as vectors of such diseases as plague, tularemia, and brucellosis.
Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
flea
(flē), An insect of the order Siphonaptera, marked by lateral compression, sucking mouthparts, extraordinary jumping powers, and ectoparasitic adult life in the hair and feathers of warm-blooded animals. Important fleas include
Ctenocephalides felis (cat flea), or
C. canis (dog flea),
Pulex irritans (human flea),
Tunga penetrans (chigger, chigoe, or sand flea),
Echidnophaga gallinacea (sticktight flea),
Xenopsylla (rat flea), and
Ceratophyllus.
See also:
Copepoda.
Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
flea
(flē)n. Any of various small, wingless, bloodsucking insects of the order Siphonaptera that are parasitic on mammals and birds and can jump long distances.
The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
flea
A wingless, 1-4 mm blood-sucking member of order Siphonaptera Vector for Bubonic plague, rickettsiosis Fleas of interest Human flea–Pulex irritans, oriental rat flea–Xenopsylla cheopis, water flea–CocepodMcGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
flea
(flē) An insect of the order Siphonaptera, distinguished by lateral compression, sucking mouthparts, extraordinary jumping powers, and ectoparasitic adult life in the hair and feathers of warm-blooded animals.
Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012
flea
any small wingless parasitic bloodsucking insect of the ENDOPTERYGOTE order Aphaniptera (Siphonaptera).Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005