Synopses & Reviews
Parasitology is an immensely important aspect of biological science. This manual presents fifty easy-to-follow laboratory exercises for student practical (lab) classes. All the exercises are tried and tested by the authors and are used in a wide variety of university undergraduate teaching departments. They range from relatively simple observational exercises, using local materials and requiring little in the way of equipment, to more technically demanding experiments in physiology and molecular parasitology. Each exercise includes a list of necessary equipment, consumables and sources of parasite material, instructions for staff and students, including aspects of safety, expected results, and some analysis provided by questions. In addition, the text also includes ideas for further exploration and information on similar exercises, as well as lists of selected further reading. This book should be an essential purchase for all teachers of parasitology at the university undergraduate level and for students taking laboratory practical classes in the subject.
Synopsis
Practical Exercises in Parasitology is a laboratory manual for teachers and undergraduate students. Each exercise includes a list of equipment, sources of parasite material, instructions for staff and students, aspects of safety, and expected results. This is an excellent aid to hands-on laboratory teaching of parasitology.
Table of Contents
Part I. Observational Exercises on Parasites: A. Local and domestic hosts as sources of parasites: 1.1. Parasites of the earthworm: Monocystis (Protozoa) and Rhabditis (Nematoda); 1.2. Parasites of marine molluscs (Littorina); 1.3. Parasites of fish: (a) whiting and Diclidophora merlangi (Monogenea); 1.4. Parasites of fish: (b) plaice/flounder and Lepeophtheirus pectoralis (Copepoda); 1.5. Parasites of domestic livestock: (a) pig and Ascaris suum (Nematoda); 1.6. Parasites of domestic livestock: (b) sheep and Fasciola hepatica (Trematoda); 1.7. Parasites of crops: Potato Cyst Nematode (PCN) - Globodera pallida (Nematoda); B. Laboratory maintained species: 1.8. Protozoan parasites of the intestinal tract of the cockroach, Periplaneta Americana; 1.9. Protozoan parasites of the mouse intestinal tract; 1.10. Rodent malaria; 1.11. Malaria: an example of a vector transmitted parasite; 1.12. Larval and adult Echinostoma spp. (Trematoda); 1.13. Schistosoma mansoni (Trematoda); 1.14. Hymenolepsis diminuta (Cestoda); 1.15. Heligmosomoides polygyrus (Nematoda); Part II. Ecology: 2.1. Pinworms (Nematoda, Oxyuroidea) in the American cockroach, Periplaneta Americana; 2.2. Distribution and microhabitat of a monogenean on the gills of mackerel; 2.3. Population dynamics of Gyrodactylus on stickleback; 2.4. Intraspecific competition in the cestode, Hymenolepsis diminuta in rats; 2.5. Transmission dynamics and the pattern of dispersion of the cestode, Hymenolepsis diminuta, in the intermediate host population; Part III. Physiology and Biochemistry: 3.1. Hatching in vitro of oncospheres/hexacanth larvae of Hymenolepsis diminuta; 3.2. Activation of the cysticercoids of Hymenolepsis spp. in vitro; 3.3. Membrane transport in the cestode, Hymenolepsis diminuta, in vitro; 3.4. Glycogen utilization and deposition in flatworm parasites; 3.5. Effects of classical transmitters on the motility of parasite roundworms and flatworms; 3.6. Electrophysiology of Ascaris suum body muscle; 3.7. Immunocytochemical demontration of neuroactive substances in helminth parasites; Part IV. Pathology and Immunology: 4.1. Encapsulation of foreign matter (not self) by earthworms; 4.2. Opsonisation of trypanosomes; 4.3. Production and screening of monoclonal antibodies against Leishmania promastigotes; 4.4. Pathological effects of Mesocestoides corti and Schistosoma mansoni; 4.5. Quantification of lymphocyte populations in the spleen and thymus; 4.6. Use of basic indirect ELISA for the detection of antibodies produced by experimental immunisation; 4.7. SDS PAGE and Western blotting for the detection of antibodies produced by experimental immunisation; Part V. Chemotherapy: 5.1. Sensitivity of a coccidial parasite, Eimeria, to an ionophore, monensin; 5.2. Egg hatch assay for determination of resistance of nematodes to benzimidazole anthelmintics; 5.3. Larval migration inhibition assay for determination of susceptibility of nematodes to levamisole; 5.4. Effect of anthelmintics on nematodes; Part VI. Molecular Parasitology: 6.1. Purification of DNA; 6.2. DNA digestion and gel electrophoresis; 6.3. Restriction enzyme mapping; 6.4. Construction of a genomic library; 6.5. Detection and differentiation of Entamoeba histolytica and E. dispar by PCR; 6.6. Differentiation between parasite species by agglutination and detection of parasite surface cardohydrate, using non-conjugated lectins; 6.7. Tentative identification of parasite and tissue surface carbohydrates by conjugated lectins; Part VII. Behaviour: 7.1. Behaviour of the miracidia of Fasciola hepatica and demonstration of other larval stages; 7.2. Effects of age and environmental factors on the swimming behaviour of the cercariae of Cryptocotyle lingua (Trematoda); 7.3. Changes in host behaviour as a consequence of parasite infection; 7.4. Behaviour of the amphipod, Gammarus pulex, infected with cystacanths of acanthocephalans; 7.5. Effects of Schistocephalus solidus (Cestoda) on stickleback feeding behaviour.