LAST UPDATED: Jan 19, 2021
Lice are members of the order Phthiraptera. They are wingless, dorsoventrally flattened insects, which are obligate ectoparasites of birds and mammals. The Phthiraptera are highly host-specific and spend their entire lives on the host. Members of the suborder Anoplura are blood-sucking ectoparasites of mammals, humans are parasitized by three species of Anoplura: Pediculus humanus capitis, the head louse; Pediculus humanus corporis, the clothing or body louse; and Phthirus pubis, the pubic or crab louse. For more information refer to the related chapters.
Disclaimer - the author PCDS cannot accept responsibility for any misleading or incorrect statements, and the management of individual patients remains the direct responsibility of the individual doctor. We do however hope that visitors to this site can contact us regarding comments that are considered misleading or incorrect so that we can continue to improve the site.
Image Rights - The PCDS would like to thank Dermatoweb, DermQuest (Galderma), and others who have contributed images. All named individuals and organisations maintain copyright for the relevant images.
It is important for the PCDS to build its own image bank, as such we welcome original images from our readers, especially in skin of colour:
Please start typing below the word of any medical term that you do not understand.
The following pharmaceutical companies have had no involvement in the content of this website or in our conference programmes
