Ei·me·ria ī-'mir-ē-ə n a genus of coccidian protozoans that invade the visceral epithelia and esp. the intestinal wall of many vertebrates and some invertebrates and that include serious pathogens
ei·me·ri·an -ē-ən adj or n
Ei·mer 'ī-mər Theodor Gustav Heinrich (1843-1898)
German zoologist. Eimer is known largely for his opposition to the Darwinian theory of natural selection. He held that variation in organisms occurred not by chance but according to the mechanism of orthogenesis.
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Ei·me·ria (i-mērґe-ə) [Gustav Heinrich Theodor Eimer, German zoologist, 1843–1898] a genus of homoxenous coccidian protozoa (suborder Eimeriina, order Eucoccidiida) found principally as parasites of the gastrointestinal tract of birds and herbivorous mammals. The organisms have four spores in each oocyst and two sporozoites in each spore, with oocysts being passed in the feces. Many species are of economic importance. Pathogenic species found in domestic animals include E. bovis, E. ellipsoidalis, and E. zuernii in cattle; E. arloingi A (E. ovina), E. arloingi B (E. weybridgensis), E. ahsata, E. crandallis, E. gilruthi, and E. ovinoidalis in sheep; E. debliecki, E. scabra, and E. perminuta in pigs; E. leukarti in horses and donkeys; E. arloingi, E. caprina, E. faurei, and E. ninakohlyakimovae in goats; E. magna, E. stieda, E. sciurorum, and E. perforans in rabbits; and E. acervulina, E. maxima, E. meleagridis, E. necatrix, and E. tenella in poultry. See also coccidiosis.Medical dictionary. 2011.