Type:
Educational Exhibit
Keywords:
Abdomen, CNS, Ultrasound, CT, MR, Diagnostic procedure, Infection, Parasites
Authors:
P. Hernández , P. Rodriguez Carnero, S. Martin Garre; Madrid/ES
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2013/C-2165
Background
Although parasitic diseases are relatively uncommon in our daily practice,
in Western Europe some of these conditions are recently increasing mainly due to immigration from tropical endemic regions.
Moreover,
some parasitic diseases are still endemic in some European regions.
Knowing typical imaging features of these diseases is essential not only to achieve a correct diagnosis,
but also to accomplish an appropriate clinical management.
A parasite is an organism which lives in another organis and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other’s expense,
occasionally causing illness.
This unexpected hosts are very heterogeneous,
some can cause a systemic disease while others,
are confined to particular organs.
Many of them have complex life cycles,
being substantially different when they affect a final host or an intermediary host.
Diagnosis of parasitic diseases requires a high clinical suspicion,
existing two main diagnostic methods: detecting the parasite and/or its components,
or detecting specific antigens.
Classification of some parasites and their modes of transmission. Table 1
Table 1