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Pediculosis pubis (also known as "crabs" and "pubic lice") is an infestation by the pubic louse, Pthirus pubis, a wingless insect which feeds on blood and lays its eggs (nits) on mainly pubic hair. Less commonly, hair near the anus, armpit, beard, eyebrows, moustache, and eyelashes may be involved.
The crab louse or pubic louse (Pthirus pubis) is an insect that is an obligate ectoparasite of humans, feeding exclusively on blood. [2] The crab louse usually is found in the person's pubic hair . Although the louse cannot jump, it can also live in other areas of the body that are covered with coarse hair, such as the perianal area , the ...
Pthirus gorillae infests gorillas, [5] and Pthirus pubis afflicts humans, and is commonly known as the crab louse or pubic louse. [6] The two species diverged some 3.3 million years ago. [7] Since 1958 the generic name Pthirus has been spelled with pth rather than phth, despite this being based on a misspelling of the Greek-derived phthirus. [3 ...
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Louse eggs (also known as nits), are attached near the base of a host hair shaft. [ 11 ] [ 12 ] Eggs are usually laid on the base of the hair, 3–5 mm off the scalp surface. [ 11 ] [ 12 ] In warm climates, and especially the tropics, eggs may be laid 6 inches (15 cm) or more down the hair shaft.
Immediately after hatching it starts feeding on the host's blood and then returns to the clothing until the next blood-meal. The nymph will molt three times before the adult louse emerges. The nymph usually takes 9–12 days to develop into an adult louse. [14] The adult body louse is about 2.5–3.5 mm long, and like a nymph it has six legs ...
Humans host two species of louse—the head louse and the body louse are subspecies of Pediculus humanus; and the pubic louse, Pthirus pubis. The body louse has the smallest genome of any known insect; it has been used as a model organism and has been the subject of much research. Lice were ubiquitous in human society until at least the Middle ...
P. gorillae and P. pubis (the crab louse) are the only known species that belong to the genus Pthirus, often incorrectly spelled as Phthirus (the Greek word for louse is phthir). [3] It is suggested that it is transmitted among its hosts by social grooming, shared bedding and sexual contact. [4] All species of sucking lice feed on blood. [5]