Foundations Of Paleoparasitology

Unprecedented initiative in the world, the book compiles the available knowledge on the subject and presents the state-of-the-art in paleoparasitology – term coined about 30 years ago by Brazilian Fiocruz researcher Luiz Fernando Ferreira, pioneer in this science which is concerned with the study of parasites in the past. Multidisciplinary by essence, paleoparasitology gathers contributions from social scientists, biologists, historians, archaeologists, pharmacists, doctors and many other professionals, either in biomedical or humanities fields. With varied applications such as in evolutionary or migration studies, their results often depend on the association between laboratory findings and cultural remains. The book is divided into four parts - Parasites, Hosts, and Human Environment; Parasites Remains Preserved in Various Materials and Techniques in Microscopy and Molecular Diagnostics; Parasite Findings in Archeological Remains: a paleographic view; and Special Studies and Perspectives. Signed by authors from various countries such as Argentina, USA, Germany and France, the book has chapters devoted to the discoveries of paleoparasitology on all continents.

This two-volume edited book highlights and reviews the potential of the fossil record to calibrate the origin and evolution of parasitism, and the techniques to understand the development of parasite-host associations and their relationships with environmental and ecological changes. The book deploys a broad and comprehensive approach, aimed at understanding the origins and developments of various parasite groups, in order to provide a wider evolutionary picture of parasitism as part of biodiversity. This is in contrast to most contributions by parasitologists in the literature that focus on circular lines of evidence, such as extrapolating from current host associations or distributions, to estimate constraints on the timing of the origin and evolution of various parasite groups. This approach is narrow and fails to provide the wider evolutionary picture of parasitism on, and as part of, biodiversity. Volume two focuses on the importance of direct host associations and host responses such as pathologies in the geological record to constrain the role of antagonistic interactions in driving the diversification and extinction of parasite-host relationships and disease. To better understand the impact on host populations, emphasis is given to arthropods, colonial metazoans, echinoderms, mollusks and vertebrates as hosts. In addition, novel techniques used to constrain interactions in deep time are discussed ranging from chemical and microscopic investigations of host remains, such as blood and coprolites, to the statistical inference of lateral transfer of transposons and host-parasite coevolutionary dynamics using molecular divergence time estimation.

Owing to their unique state of preservation, mummies provide us with significant historical and scientific knowledge of humankind’s past. This handbook, written by prominent international experts in mummy studies, offers readers a comprehensive guide to new understandings of the field’s most recent trends and developments. It provides invaluable information on the health states and pathologies of historic populations and civilizations, as well as their socio-cultural and religious characteristics. Addressing the developments in mummy studies that have taken place over the past two decades – which have been neglected for as long a time – the authors excavate the ground-breaking research that has transformed scientific and cultural knowledge of our ancient predecessors. The handbook investigates the many new biotechnological tools that are routinely applied in mummy studies, ranging from morphological inspection and endoscopy to minimally invasive radiological techniques that are used to assess states of preservation. It also looks at the paleoparasitological and pathological approaches that have been employed to reconstruct the lifestyles and pathologic conditions of ancient populations, and considers the techniques that have been applied to enhance biomedical knowledge, such as craniofacial reconstruction, chemical analysis, stable isotope analysis and ancient DNA analysis. This interdisciplinary handbook will appeal to academics in historical, anthropological, archaeological and biological sciences, and will serve as an indispensable companion to researchers and students interested in worldwide mummy studies.

Fossil Parasites, the latest edition in the Advances in Parasitology series established in 1963, contains comprehensive and up-to-date reviews on all areas of interest in contemporary parasitology, including medical studies of parasites of major influence, such as plasmodium falciparum and trypanosomes. The series also contains reviews of more traditional areas, such as zoology, taxonomy, and life history, which help to shape current thinking and applications. Parasitism is a dominant life history strategy and we know it has existed for millions of years. Detecting parasitism in the fossil record is problematic because we rarely see direct evidence and usually must rely on indirect evidence to infer its existence. This unique volume takes a broad and systematic view of direct and indirect evidence for parasitism in the fossil record. Expert contributors providing timely reviews of different aspects of palaeoparasitology Comprehensive treatments of taxonomic groups never before summarized Comprehensive coverage of important historical and recent advances in the field New avenues for research are explored and suggested

This is a thoroughly revised edition of a well-received reference work on helminthiases and their impact on worldwide public health. The carefully presented collection covers both common and neglected helminth infections. Readers will discover an up-date overview to helminth epidemiology (including molecular typing), specific biological, immunological and immunopathological aspects, diagnosis and latest perspectives of control. New contributions give particular attention to economic consequences of helminthiases, deworming programs and future public health approaches, as well as most recent findings in host immune responses. Helminths are long-lived multicellular organisms that have co-evolved with humans over many thousands of years. They are responsible for infections which affect around one fourth of the human population, at global level. Despite the huge efforts in research during the last years, effective control of helminth infections is still far from optimal standards and the resulting diseases remain neglected. The highly readable link of parasitological background and clinical application makes this book a valuable read not only for parasitologists but also physicians and medical students, health professionals as well as experts in public health issues. Moreover, all readers concerned with combating neglected parasitoses towards the Sustainable Development Goal SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) will understand the significance of this renewed volume.