First Known Use: circa 1881
Dictionary
bilharzia
noun bil·har·zia \bil-ˈhär-zē-ə; -ˈhärt-sē-\
Definition of BILHARZIA
1
ADVERTISEMENT
Origin of BILHARZIA
New Latin, genus name, from Theodor Bilharz †1862 German zoologist
Medical Dictionary
bilharzia
noun bil·har·zia \bil-ˈhär-zē-ə, -ˈhärt-sē-\
Medical Definition of BILHARZIA
Biographical Note for BILHARZIA
Bil·harz \ˈbil-ˌhärts\ , Theodor Maximillian (1825–1862), German anatomist and helminthologist. Bilharz became a professor of anatomy in Cairo. While there in 1851 he described the disease schistosomiasis in a letter. In 1852 he discovered that the causative parasite was a hitherto unknown trematode, and he published a description the following year. Heinrich Meckel von Hemsbach created the genus Bilharzia in 1856 to contain the trematode discovered by Bilharz. The genus was subsequently suppressed by international agreement, and all three trematodes causing schistosomiasis are now placed in the genus Schistosoma. However, the term bilharzia (written without an initial capital letter and without italics) denoting the disease or its causative agent and the term bilharziasis denoting the disease are derived from the genus and continue to honor Bilharz's contributions to tropical parasitology.
Learn More About BILHARZIA
Browse
Next Word in the Dictionary: bilharziasisPrevious Word in the Dictionary: bilgyAll Words Near: bilharzia
ADVERTISEMENT
Seen & Heard
What made you want to look up bilharzia? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).