This term refers to a weak point of a parasite or another organism, which make them vulnerable against aggressors or aggressive substances. The name has its origin in the Greek Troja-war-tale of the hero Achilles (son of Peleus and goddess Thetis), who was killed by an arrow (shot by Paris) entering his heel. This heel was the only vulnerable place on his body. Thus the arrow was steered by god Apoll, who was the protector of the town Troja.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this entry
Cite this entry
Mehlhorn, H. (2016). Achilles’ Heel. In: Mehlhorn, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Parasitology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43978-4_3513
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43978-4_3513
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-662-43977-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-43978-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences