This is an image of the head (1) and mouth (2) of a tick (Ixodida). In this image you can see the hypostome (3), part of the mouth that contains backward facing spikes that make it hard to pull the ...

A tick’s mouth has two sets of sharp hooks to break through the host’s skin so the tick can insert its feeding apparatus, called a hypostome (1 and 2, respectively). In the center of a tick’s mouth ...

"The hypostome has microscopic backward-pointing barbs, and the tick also secretes a cement-like substance to anchor the mouthparts in place," explains Ostfeld. This anatomy makes it challenging ...

The patient underwent extensive workup. All laboratory testing including CBC, CMP and Lyme titers were within normal limits. Neurology was consulted given the concern of possible Guillan-Barre ...