Medical Parasitology:


Medical Parasitology is the subject which deals with the parasites that infect humans, the diseases caused by them, clinical picture and the response generated by humans against them (host-parasite interaction). It is also concerned with the various methods of their diagnosis, treatment and finally their prevention & control.
"Humans are hosts to nearly 300 species of parasitic worms and over 70 species of protozoa, some derived from our primate ancestors and some acquired from the animals we have domesticated or come in contact with during our relatively short history on Earth".

History of Parasitology:

"Our knowledge of parasitic infections extends into antiquity, and descriptions of parasites and parasitic infections are found in the earliest writings and have been confirmed by the finding of parasites in archaeological material".
The first written records of parasites date from 3000 to 400BC in Egyptian papyrus papyrus records. They identify parasites such as roundworms, Guinea worms (cause elephantiasis) ,thread worm , and some tapeworms of unknown varieties.
Symptoms of elephantiasis are highly visible, since it causes extreme swelling in the limbs, breasts, and genitals. A number of surviving statues indicate that Pharaoh Mentuhotop II is likely to have suffered from elephantiasis. In addition, an autopsy on the 3000-year-old mummified body of Natsef-Amun, a priest during the time of Ramses XI, revealed the presence of filarial worms (figure.1.) (Cox, 2002). 


Figure.1: A statu for Pharaoh  Mentuhotep II (left). Natsef-Amun, 
a priest during the time of Ramses XI (right)

In Egypt , the Ebers Papyrus (figure.2) (20 feet long document dating from the time of Pharaoh Hor-Den, the 1 st dynasty and discovered in 1875, at Thebes) contains one of the few references to hookworm disease  in ancient texts. 


Figure.2. The Ebers Papyrus, also known as Papyrus Ebers, is an Egyptian medical papyrus 
 dating to c. 1550 BC. Among the oldest and most important medical papyri of ancient Egypt, 
it was purchased at Luxor , (Thebes) in the winter of 1873–74 by Georg Ebers. 
It is currently kept at the library  of the University of Leipzig, in Germany.

Schistosomiasis haematobium is one of the most ancient parasitic diseases identified by man. DNA sequencing of the genus Schistosoma proves that it dates back to 0.43 million years. Discovery of calcified ova from canopic jars and mummies dating back to the 20th dynasty (1250-1500 BC) suggests that Schistosoma haematobium has been endemic in Egypt for more than 5,000 years. The ancient Egyptians have known not only the a-a-a disease (ancient Egyptian for haematuria) (figure3), but their papyri pictograms disclose also their approaches to prevention and therapy. Medical papyri documents suggestions to the ancient Egyptians to avoid contact with polluted water and to avoid polluting water by wearing penile sheaths (Jordan, 2000).

Figure 3: (Left) Egyptian hieroglyphics from the Ebers Papyrus written in 1500 B.C. representing the aaa disease. 
(Right) “An ancient Egyptian from the XIXth Dynasty 1350–1200 B.C. hunting in the marshes, and carrying a sling. 
His ’penile sheath’ is to protect him from bilharzia”. A penile sheath, locally known as a K.C.B.-Kaffir Cock Box — as worn by Kaffirs and Zulus while bathing.