flea

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–Cocepod

McGraw-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

(fle)

An insect of the order Siphonaptera. Fleas are wingless, suck blood, and have legs adapted for jumping. Usually they are parasitic on warm-blooded animals, including humans. Fleas of the genus Xenopsylla transmit the plague bacillus (Yersinia pestis) from rats to humans. Fleas may transmit other diseases such as tularemia, endemic typhus, and brucellosis. They are intermediate hosts for cat and dog tapeworms.

FLEA

cat flea

See: Ctenocephalidesillustration

chigger flea

Tunga penetrans.

dog flea

See: Ctenocephalides

human flea

Pulex irritans

rat flea

Xenopsylla cheopisillustration

Medical Dictionary, © 2009 Farlex and Partners

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