Surface-level nutrition or growth sustained by feeding on external surfaces, a term used in parasitology and biology to describe external feeding patterns.
From Greek 'epi-' (upon, external) and 'trophē' (nourishment, food). The noun form describes the biological process of obtaining nutrition from external surfaces.
Understanding epitrophy versus endoparasitism (internal parasites) helped scientists develop better treatments—you can treat surface parasites much more easily than ones living inside your organs.
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