An organism that lives externally on another organism, as opposed to a parasite that lives inside its host.
From Greek 'ektos' (outside) and 'organism,' combining to describe creatures that reside on rather than within their hosts. A term from ecological and parasitology studies.
Lice are classic ectorganisms—they live on your skin and hair rather than inside your body, which is why external treatments work better than internal medicine for getting rid of them!
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