parasitology, the study of animal and plant parasitism as a biological phenomenon. Parasites occur in virtually all major animal groups and in many plant groups, with hosts as varied as the parasites themselves. Many parasitologists are concerned primarily with particular taxonomic groups and should perhaps be considered students of those groups, rather than parasitologists per se; others are interested in parasitism as an evolutionary phenomenon and work with a number of taxonomic groups. The science has a number of branches (e.g., veterinary, medical, or agricultural parasitology).
The history of parasitology is scattered among a number of other disciplines, especially zoology. Many highly evolved parasites remained essentially unknown or misunderstood until the advent of the microscope in the mid-17th century. A pioneer in the field of intestinal parasitology was the mid-19th century Belgian biologist P.J. van Beneden, who unraveled the life history of tapeworms and many other groups.