HLTB21H3 : Chapter 1, 2, review.docx
17 Mar 2012
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Document Summary
Plague: plaga to strike a blow with wounds. When a parasite invades a host it establishes an infection and wounds the body. Parasites are invariably smaller in mass than their host, ex. A malaria parasite that lives within a red blood cell is 1/5000 of an inch in diameter. If only 10% of your blood cells were infected, the total mass of the malaria parasite would not occupy a thimble, but could shortly destroy enough of your red blood cells, leading to death. Parasites produce lots of offspring, increasing the odds that some will reach new hosts, which increases the probability of setting up an infection. By doing this, the parasite enables the chances for survival. When a malaria infected mosquito feeds, it injects its saliva with a dozen of the thousands of parasites that are present in his salivary glands.
