# Fungus isn't a parasite? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [January 19, 2001, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fungus-isnt-a-parasite/50921 "2001-01-19T21:35:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fungus-isnt-a-parasite/50921/1 "2001-01-19T21:35:56Z")
From [http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010119.html:](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010119.html:) > [@](#): > > Unfortunately (for you), ringworm is a fungus, not a parasite. Isn’t it both? I guess he meant to say “worm” instead of parasite. (post edited to fix link) [Edited by Arnold Winkelried on 01-20-2001 at 06:34 PM] ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2001, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fungus-isnt-a-parasite/50921/2 "2001-01-20T15:15:53Z")
I believe you are correct. Ringworm is a parasitic fungus, so that the final word should be “worm,” not “parasite.” Perhaps Cecil or his minions should edit the column? 😉 > **[Traditionally Eskimos ate only meat and fish. Why didn’t they get scurvy?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343509/traditionally-eskimos-ate-only-meat-and-fish-why-didn-t-they-get-scurvy)** > > Dear Cecil: > Why didn't Eskimos get scurvy before citrus was introduced to their diet? They have a traditional diet of almost entirely meat and fish. Where did they get their vitamin C? > Kevin... Incidentally, I got a “404: not found” error when I clicked on The Ryan’s link. The one above worked in “Preview.” ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2001, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fungus-isnt-a-parasite/50921/3 "2001-01-21T00:31:10Z")
There needs to be a space on both sides of the URL for the link to work. **The Ryan** has a colon immediately after “html”. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fungus-isnt-a-parasite/50921/4 "2001-01-22T01:51:33Z")
A parasite, by definition, is an organism which makes its living off of a creature of a different species, to the detriment of that creature. This is why fetuses are not parasites 😃 Yeah, Cecil meant worms. ---
**Author:** ![joblo39](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/58f4c7/32.png) [@joblo39](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joblo39)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fungus-isnt-a-parasite/50921/5 "2001-01-22T18:50:34Z")
Methinks “Morbid Curiosity” mistook “ringworm” for “roundworm”. Intestinal roundworms (i.e. usually ascarid nematodes) can be fairly large and fairly mobile, but I doubt they could go all the way up to the nose, because of the tight closure of the oesophagus-gastric junction (the cardia), even under anesthesia. As a veterinarian, I can tell you that many animals with roundworm infections get operated upon, and I’ve never heard of worms popping out of an animal’s nares. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fungus-isnt-a-parasite/50921/6 "2001-01-22T19:01:17Z")
Are roundworms the ones which, at some point in the life cycle, enter the throat and are then swallowed? I was pondering over that possibility. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fungus-isnt-a-parasite/50921/7 "2001-01-22T19:21:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sattua \* > \*\*A parasite, by definition, is an organism which makes its living off of a creature of a different species, to the detriment of that creature. This is why fetuses are not parasites. Yeah, Cecil meant worms. \*\* > **[Dictionary.com Is The World’s Favorite Online Dictionary](https://www.dictionary.com)** > > Dictionary.com is the world’s leading online source for English definitions, pronunciations, word origins, idioms, Word of the Day, and more. Parasite From Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: … (Bot.) (a) A plant obtaining nourishment immediately from other plants to which it attaches itself, and whose juices it absorbs; – sometimes, but erroneously, called epiphyte. (b) A plant living on or within an animal, and supported at its expense, as many species of fungi of the genus {Torrubia}. (Zo["o]l.) (a) An animal which lives during the whole or part of its existence on or in the body of some other animal, feeding upon its food, blood, or tissues, as lice, tapeworms, etc. (b) An animal which steals the food of another, as the parasitic jager. (c) An animal which habitually uses the nest of another, as the cowbird and the European cuckoo. I don’t see where the host has to be an organism of another species. Hence, a fetus and/or embryo is also a parasite. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fungus-isnt-a-parasite/50921/8 "2001-01-22T19:28:50Z")
I got that definition from a parasitologist. If you want to ignore the species issue, a fetus/mother interaction would be +/0, which makes it commensalism, not parasitism. Which is another reason a fetus is not a parasite 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fungus-isnt-a-parasite/50921/9 "2001-01-22T20:08:35Z")
**barbitu8** , I followed your link, entered “parasite”, and got the following: > [@](#): > > par·a·site > n. > 1.Biology. An organism that grows, feeds, and is sheltered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing to the survival of its host. Since the fetus contributes to the survival of the parent (in the sense of perpetuating the genes) it’s not a parasite. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fungus-isnt-a-parasite/50921/10 "2001-01-22T22:13:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ZenBeam \* > \*\*Since the fetus contributes to the survival of the parent (in the sense of perpetuating the genes) it’s not a parasite. \*\* It’s funny that I got a different definition, but mine was obviously old, being from a 1913 dictionary. Anyway, the fetus does not contribute to the survival of the parent, but to the species. The parent can do just fine w/o it. We’re just quibbling over definitions, anyway. No one, other than me, looks upon a fetus or embryo as a parasite. ---
**Author:** ![bungie\_us](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b38774/32.png) [@bungie\_us](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bungie_us)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2001, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fungus-isnt-a-parasite/50921/11 "2001-01-22T22:28:32Z")
> [@](#): > > No one, other than me, looks upon a fetus or embryo as a parasite. You, and my mom. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fungus-isnt-a-parasite/50921/12 "2001-01-23T00:03:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bungie\_us \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > No one, other than me, looks upon a fetus or embryo as a parasite. > > You, and my mom. \*\* No. That was after you were born.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bungie\_us](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b38774/32.png) [@bungie\_us](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bungie_us)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2001, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fungus-isnt-a-parasite/50921/13 "2001-01-23T00:16:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by barbitu8 \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > You, and my mom. > > No. That was after you were born.🙂 \*\* Have you been talking to her? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ed\_Zotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ed\_Zotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ed_Zotti)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fungus-isnt-a-parasite/50921/14 "2001-01-30T16:29:17Z")
> [@](#): > > I believe you are correct. Ringworm is a parasitic fungus, so that the final word should be “worm,” not “parasite.” Perhaps Cecil or his minions should edit the column? Fixed. The Boss said, “I don’t care what I SAID, you know what I MEANT.” ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2001, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fungus-isnt-a-parasite/50921/15 "2001-01-30T22:17:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ed Zotti \* > \*\*The Boss said, “I don’t care what I SAID, you know what I MEANT.” \*\* This Boss character–he giving you a hard time? You want we should lean on him a little? Don’t say anything–just cough twice–we’ll take it from there. No permanent marks, either.