xenodiagnosis

xenodiagnosis

 [zen″o-di″ag-no´sis]

1. diagnosis by means of finding, in the feces of clean laboratory-bred bugs fed on the patient, the infective forms of the organism causing the disease; used in the early stages of Chagas' disease.

2. diagnosis of trichinosis by means of feeding laboratory-bred rats or mice on meat suspected of being infected with Trichinella, and then examining the animals for the parasite. adj., adj xenodiagnos´tic.

xen·o·di·ag·no·sis

(zen'ō-dī'ag-nō'sis),

1. A method of diagnosing acute or early Trypanosoma cruzi infection (Chagas disease) in humans. Infection-free (laboratory-reared) triatomine bugs are fed on the patient's tissue and the trypanosome is identified by microscopic examination of the bug's intestinal contents after an incubation period.

2. A similar method of biologic diagnosis based on experimental exposure of a parasite-free normal host capable of allowing the organism in question to multiply, enabling it to be more easily and reliably detected.

xenodiagnosis

(zĕn′ə-dī′əg-nō′sĭs, zē′nə-)

n. pl. xenodiagno·ses (-sēz)

Diagnosis of an infectious disease at an early stage by exposing a presumably infected individual or tissue to a clean, laboratory-bred mosquito, tick, or other vector and then examining the vector for the presence of the infective microorganism.

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xen′o·di·ag·nos′tic (-nŏs′tĭk) adj.

xen·o·di·ag·no·sis

(zen'ō-dī'ăg-nō'sis)

1. A method of diagnosing acute or early Trypanosoma cruzi infection (Chagas disease) in humans. Infection-free triatomine insects are permitted to feed on the person thought to be infected, and the trypanosome is identified by microscopic examination of the intestinal contents of the insect after a suitable incubation period.

2. A similar method of biologic diagnosis based on experimental exposure of a parasite-free normal host capable of allowing the organism in question to multiply, enabling it to be more easily and reliably detected.