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Tick slashes its way into blood vessels

1 decade 1 year 4 months 1 week ago

(liveleak) The mechanism of the tick bite is animated ahead of the video to help understand what will be happening, and 3D electron microscopy photographs of the tick's mouth parts are included at the end. You may wish to watch this video twice.

BACKGROUND: Scientists in Germany & the USA, recorded the tick bite by cinematography, and microscopy. They suggest that a ratchet-like mechanism with two distinct stages is responsible for the tick's successful bite.

MECHANISM: Initially, two telescoping claws (chelicerae) pierce the skin and, by moving alternately, generate a toehold. Subsequently, a breaststroke-like motion, effected by simultaneous flexure and retraction of both chelicerae, pulls in a barbed stiletto-like structure called the hypostome.

STRATEGY: Ticks also work hard to go unnoticed—inserting pain relievers, anti-clotting agents and anti-inflammatory substances as they slash their way to your blood vessels.