Maggot

Maggot
A soft-bodied wormlike larva of a fly that lays its eggs in living or especially in decaying tissues. The living or rotting material furnishes heat for the hatching of the eggs and food for the newly hatched maggots. Certain blowfly maggots — notably, those of the blackbottle fly (Phormia regina) and the greenbottle fly (Phaenicia sericata) — were used in medicine to consume and clear away both bacteria and dead tissue from deep wounds and so promote their healing. This was a favorite part of the treatment of osteomyelitis (infection of bone) and other deep suppurative (pus-filled) lesions. In a sense it was biologic (rather than surgical) debridement of a wound. The maggots also promoted healing by secreting allantoin, a supposedly salutary substance found also in fetal urine.
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A fly larva or grub.
- cheese m. SYN: Philopia casei.
- surgical m. a sterilized botfly m. used in an obsolete therapy of wound debridement and removal of necrotic tissues.

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mag·got 'mag-ət n a soft-bodied legless grub that is the larva of a dipteran fly (as the housefly) and develops usu. in decaying organic matter or as a parasite in plants or animals

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n.
the wormlike larva of a fly, which occasionally infests human tissues (see myiasis). Formerly maggots were, in some cases, allowed to feed on dead and rotting tissues and so assist in the cleaning and healing of serious wounds. Interest in this ancient practice has revived in light of the growing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics: encouraging results were obtained in a recent clinical trial in which maggots were applied to refractory leg ulcers in patients unfit for surgery.

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mag·got (magґət) a soft-bodied larva of an insect, especially a form that usually lives in decaying flesh; sometimes they infest wounds of live animals (see myiasis). Families of particular importance are Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae. The living maggots of Phaenicia sericata and Phormia regina have been used in the treatment of osteomyelitis and other suppurative infections to clear away dead tissue and promote healing because their secretions contain allantoin.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • maggot — (n.) late 15c., probably an unexplained variant of M.E. maðek, from O.E. maða maggot, grub, from P.Gmc. *mathon (Cf. O.N. maðkr, O.S. matho, M.Du., Du. made, O.H.G. mado, Ger. Made, Goth. maþa maggot ). Figurative use whim, fancy, crotchet is… …   Etymology dictionary

  • maggot — [mag′ət] n. [ME magotte, prob. < earlier mathek, flesh worm < ON mathkr or OE matha, a worm, maggot: see MAWKISH] 1. a wormlike insect larva, as the legless larva of the housefly: often found in decaying matter 2. an odd notion; whim… …   English World dictionary

  • Maggot — Mag got, n. [W. macai, pl. maceiod, magiod, a worn or grub; cf. magu to bread.] 1. (Zo[ o]l.) The footless larva of any fly. See {Larval}. [1913 Webster] 2. A whim; an odd fancy. Hudibras. Tennyson. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • maggot — maggot. См. личинка насекомых. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • maggot — ► NOUN ▪ a soft bodied legless larva, especially one of a fly or other insect and found in decaying matter. ORIGIN perhaps an alteration of dialect maddock, from Old Norse …   English terms dictionary

  • Maggot — This article is about the fly larvae. For other uses, see Maggot (disambiguation) Maggots feeding on carrion. In everyday speech the word maggot means the larva of a fly (order Diptera); it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachyceran… …   Wikipedia

  • maggot — /mag euht/, n. 1. a soft bodied, legless larva of certain flies. 2. Archaic. an odd fancy; whim. [1425 75; late ME magot, magat, unexplained var. of maddock, ME mathek < ON mathkr; akin to Dan maddik maggot, OE matha, mathu grub, maggot, OHG mado …   Universalium

  • maggot — 1. n. a cigarette. (Probably a play on faggot.) □ Can I bum a maggot off of you? D Get your own maggots. 2. n. a low and wretched person; a vile person. □ You maggot! Take your hands off me! □ Only a maggot would do something like that …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • maggot — noun /ˈmæɡət/ a) A soft, legless larva of a fly or other dipterous insect, that often eats decomposing organic matter. Drop and give me fifty, maggot. b) A term of insult for a worthless person, as if a bug. Mr. Beveridges Maggot, an old country… …   Wiktionary

  • maggot — n 1. a despicable, dirty and/or insignificant person. In British use, the predominant idea is usually beneath contempt , whereas in Australia maggot is a general ised term of abuse. 2. British money. A rare usage, heard among petty criminals or… …   Contemporary slang

  • maggot — UK [ˈmæɡət] / US noun [countable] Word forms maggot : singular maggot plural maggots a small soft creature with no arms or legs that later changes into a fly. Maggots are found in old meat and dead bodies …   English dictionary

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