body louse

A parasitic louse (Pediculus humanus subsp. humanus) that infests the clothes and body of humans and can transmit diseases such as typhus.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

louse

(n. laʊs; v. also laʊz)

n., pl. lice (līs) for 1–3, lous•es for 4, n.

1. any of various small, flat, wingless insects of the order Anoplura, with sucking mouthparts, that are parasitic on humans and other mammals, as Pediculus humanuscapitis (head louse) and P. humanus corporis (body louse).

2. any similar insect of the order Mallophaga, with biting mouthparts, parasitic on birds and some mammals.

3. aphid.

4. Slang. a contemptible person.

v.t.

5. to delouse.

6. louse up, Slang. to spoil; botch.

[before 900; Middle English lous(e),luse, Old English lūs, c. Middle Dutch, Middle Low German, Old High German, Old Norse lūs]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

body louse - a parasitic louse that infests the body of human beings

cootie, Pediculus corporis

louse, sucking louse - wingless usually flattened bloodsucking insect parasitic on warm-blooded animals

genus Pediculus, Pediculus - type genus of Pediculidae: true lice infecting humans

Translations

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References in periodicals archive

Use of temperature and water immersion to control the human body louse (Anoplura: Pediculidae).

Killing Clothes Lice by Holding Infested Clothes Away from Hosts for 10 Days to Control Louseborne Relapsing Fever, Bahir Dah, Ethiopia

The chicken body louse and the shaft louse are the two species of lice most commonly found on poultry.

Feedback: Fleas, mites that attack poultry

There are three types of human lice: the head louse Pediculus humanus capitis; the body louse Pediculus humanus humanus; and the pubic louse Pthirus pubis (1).

A Rare Case of Blebharitis: Phthiriasis Palpebrarum/Nadir Bir Blefarit Nedeni Olgusu: Pitriazis Palpebrarum

(3) The first case linked with spirochetal etiology and body louse transmission was documented a century ago.

A panel approach for diagnosing borreliosis?

Its genome contains 99,000,000 base pairs of nucleotides, making it smaller than other tiny reported genomes for the body louse (105,000,000 base pairs) and the winged parasite Strepsiptera (108,000,000 base pairs), as well as the genomes of three other members of the midge family.

Midge has smallest insect genome to date

The bacteria that cause typhus rely on the body louse to spread.

The Fantastic Laboratory of Dr. Weigl

The hosts in these cases are the body louse, the common flea and one species of mosquito respectively.

Is there any justification for compulsory polio vaccination for adult travelers?

A Nits are the eggs of the human body louse (plural: lice).

Pediatric insider

* Lastly, experimental infection of the human body louse with the flying squirrel strain of R.

Environmental risk factors for epidemic typhus in the United States: wintertime is typhus time

Barry Pittendrigh, from the University of Illinois, who led the work, said: "The body louse genome is the smallest known genome of any insect."

Bangor Uni research discovers chink in armour of head-louse; IMPLICATIONS FOR CONTROL OF NITS AND OTHER LICE

Washington, June 22 (ANI): Scientists have successfully sequenced the genome of the human body louse.

Human body louse genome sequenced

Or maybe you'd like to hear about trench fever, from another Bartonella (quintana), courtesy of the human body louse?

"Not so fast ..