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Clockwise from top right: Amoeba proteus, Actinophrys sol, Acanthamoeba sp., Nuclearia thermophila., Euglypha acanthophora, neutrophil ingesting bacteria. An amoeba (/ ə ˈ m iː b ə /; less commonly spelled ameba or amœba; pl.: amoebas (less commonly, amebas) or amoebae (amebae) / ə ˈ m iː b i /), [1] often called an amoeboid, is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability ...
Naegleria fowleri, also known as the brain-eating amoeba, is a species of the genus Naegleria. It belongs to the phylum Percolozoa and is classified as an amoeboflagellate excavate , [ 1 ] an organism capable of behaving as both an amoeba and a flagellate .
Cysts of Entamoeba can survive for up to a month in soil or for up to 45 minutes under fingernails. [2] Invasion of the intestinal lining results in bloody diarrhea. [2] If the parasite reaches the bloodstream it can spread through the body, most frequently ending up in the liver where it can cause amoebic liver abscesses. [2]
The cause of dysentery is usually the bacteria from genus Shigella, in which case it is known as shigellosis, or the amoeba Entamoeba histolytica; then it is called amoebiasis. [1] Other causes may include certain chemicals, other bacteria, other protozoa, or parasitic worms . [ 2 ]
From there, it can reach vital organs of the human body, usually the liver, but sometimes the lungs, brain, and spleen. [9] A common outcome of this invasion of tissues is a liver abscess, which can be fatal if untreated. [8] Ingested red blood cells are sometimes seen in the amoeba cell cytoplasm. [10]
The brain-eating amoeba was blamed for the death in June of an 18-year-old Ohio woman, who became infected after rafting at the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
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The Amoebidae are a family of Amoebozoa, [1] including naked amoebae that produce multiple pseudopodia of indeterminate length. These are roughly cylindrical with granular endoplasm and no subpseudopodia, as found in other members of the class Tubulinea.