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

/xeno·di·ag·no·sis/ (-di″ag-no´sis) a method of animal inoculation using laboratory-bred bugs and animals in the diagnosis of certain parasitic infections when the infecting organism cannot be demonstrated in blood films; used in Chagas' disease (examination of the feces of clean bugs fed on the patient's blood) and trichinosis (examination of rats to which the patient's muscle tissue has been fed).xenodiagnos´tic

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.

xenodiagnosis

[-dī·agnō′sis]

a method of diagnosing a vector-transmitted infection such as Chagas' disease, in which a laboratory-reared, pathogen-free insect is allowed to suck blood from a patient. The intestinal contents of the insect are then examined for the presence of the pathogen.

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.

xenodiagnosis

1. diagnosis by means of finding, in the feces of clean laboratory-reared, parasite-free arthropod vectors allowed to feed on the host suspected of being infected by a protozoan, the infective forms of the organism causing the disease; used in diagnosis of trypanosomiasis.

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.