Objective

This paper reviews paleo- and archaeoparasitology publications to date, from Iran. The primary focus is the importance of differential diagnosis and the crucial role of interdisciplinary collaborations among parasitologists and other specialists.

Methods

All relevant articles and theses published in Iran through October 2020 are included and evaluated, with particular emphasis on the diagnostic process.

Results

Archaeoparasitic studies in Iran have identified a number of parasites that provide insight into the past. Misidentification, however, due to incomplete differential diagnosis, remains an issue, as does incomplete description and problematic images.

Conclusions

Identification of paleoparasites to the species level must be supported with accurate morphology and morphometry. Rigorous differential diagnosis is essential. Caution must be exercised when interpreting observations of ova recovered from coprolites. In these instances, precise identification of host animals and aligning parasite ranges with host specificity is critical. The possibility of incidental parasite presence must be evaluated, including non-specificity of parasite tropisms, transport hosting, or contamination. Lastly, differential diagnosis must include consideration of intentional consumption of parasites. Thus, parasitological findings must be placed in geographical, historical, and cultural contexts.

Significance

Archaeoparasitological research in Iran has elucidated the presence of faunal and human disease in the past and has, through this reevaluation of the published works, contributed to precise description and diagnosis of ova of roundworms, tapeworms, thorny-headed worms, and recognition of larval stages of tapeworms in recovered remains of mites.

中文翻译：

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伊朗的古寄生虫学和古寄生虫学：鉴别诊断回顾

客观的

本文回顾了迄今为止来自伊朗的古寄生虫学和考古寄生虫学出版物。主要关注点是鉴别诊断的重要性以及寄生虫学家和其他专家之间跨学科合作的关键作用。

方法

包括并评估了 2020 年 10 月之前在伊朗发表的所有相关文章和论文，特别强调了诊断过程。

结果

伊朗的古寄生虫研究已经确定了许多寄生虫，可以深入了解过去。然而，由于不完整的鉴别诊断，错误识别仍然是一个问题，不完整的描述和有问题的图像也是如此。

结论

必须通过准确的形态学和形态测量学来支持物种水平的古寄生虫鉴定。严格的鉴别诊断是必不可少的。在解释从粪化石中回收的卵子的观察结果时必须谨慎行事。在这些情况下，准确识别宿主动物并将寄生虫范围与宿主特异性保持一致是至关重要的。必须评估偶然存在寄生虫的可能性，包括寄生虫趋向性、运输宿主或污染的非特异性。最后，鉴别诊断必须包括考虑有意食用寄生虫。因此，寄生虫学发现必须放在地理、历史和文化背景下。

意义

伊朗的考古寄生虫学研究阐明了过去动物和人类疾病的存在，并通过对已发表作品的重新评估，有助于精确描述和诊断蛔虫、绦虫、刺头虫的卵，并识别幼虫阶段回收的螨虫遗骸中的绦虫。