Maggots Are Used in Modern Wound Treatment
A maggot is a fly larva. Medicine uses sterile ones deliberately, because they clean wounds better than a scalpel.
A maggot is the legless larva of a fly. Medicine keeps them in service: *maggot debridement therapy* uses sterile larvae to eat dead tissue in a wound while leaving living tissue untouched, which no surgical instrument can do so precisely. The technique is regulated and used for wounds that resist other treatment.
- A fly larva. *Maggots in the bin.*
- A whim (archaic). *A strange maggot.*
- Maggoty — infested. *Maggoty meat.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | maggot | A single maggot. |
| Plural | maggots | A mass of maggots. |
| Adjective | maggoty | Maggoty cheese. |
| Related | larva | An insect larva. |
| Related | grub | A beetle grub. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Sterile maggots debride wounds.Modern medicine.
- Maggots are used as fishing bait.Angling.
- A maggot once meant a whim.An obsolete sense.
Maggot therapy
- Debridement — removing dead tissue from a wound
- Selective — the larvae eat necrotic tissue only
- Sterile — medical maggots are bred under controlled conditions
- Regulated — approved as a medical device in several countries
- Long history — battlefield surgeons noticed the effect for centuries
Of uncertain origin, possibly an alteration of *maddock*, an earlier English word for a worm.
Are maggots really used in medicine?
Yes. Sterile larvae are an approved treatment for certain wounds, because they remove dead tissue very precisely.
Maggot or grub?
Maggot means a fly larva specifically, without legs or a distinct head. Grub is a looser term, often for beetle larvae.