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TICK BITES: A STUDY USING SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
Author(s) -
Aoki Kiyoko,
Mori Makusu,
Kamata Hideaki,
Suzuki Hiroyuki
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
the journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.9
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1346-8138
pISSN - 0385-2407
DOI - 10.1111/j.1346-8138.1982.tb02606.x
Subject(s) - scanning electron microscope , dermis , tick , anatomy , dorsum , electron microscope , epidermis (zoology) , biology , microscopy , ultrastructure , pathology , medicine , materials science , optics , composite material , physics , ecology
A 14‐year‐old girl was visiting Karuizawa when a tick attached itself to her right upper chest. A purple‐red lesion was induced near the base of the neck. In the center of it, small black particles, the remains of the tick, were present. The tick was identified as an adult female Ixodes ovatus . Light microscopy: In the dermis near the area where the tick had attached itself, perivascular and periadnexal cellular infiltrations were observed, mainly lymphocytes and neutrophils. Scanning electron microscopy: Parts of the capitulum could be observed on the surface of the skin. The hypostome with its sharp denticles had been inserted from above through the epidermis into the dermis. A cement‐like substance, suggesting a secretion, was observed on the dorsal hypostome. An intact Ixodes ovatus was also examined by scanning electron microscopy for comparison. The present study has probably produced the very first clear visual demonstration of the tick's secretion flow pattern and effect on the surrounding tissue.