Taber's Medical Dictionary
flea
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(flē)
An insect of the order Siphonaptera. Fleas are wingless, undergo complete metamorphosis, and have piercing and sucking mouth parts. The body is compressed laterally, and the legs are adapted for jumping. Fleas are usually blood-sucking parasites 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.
SEE: Pulicidae
FLEA Xenopsylla (orig. mag. ×15)
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(flē)
An insect of the order Siphonaptera. Fleas are wingless, undergo complete metamorphosis, and have piercing and sucking mouth parts. The body is compressed laterally, and the legs are adapted for jumping. Fleas are usually blood-sucking parasites 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.
SEE: Pulicidae
FLEA Xenopsylla (orig. mag. ×15)
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