From the histological examination of tumour cells there is no evidence to show that they resemble the protozoal unicellular organisms in occasionally passing through a sexual process of reproduction, i.e.
For a longer or shorter period of their lives ticks are parasitic upon vertebrate animals of various kinds; but although the belief that the bite of certain tropical species is poisonous has long been held by the natives of the countries they infest and has been recorded with corroborative evidence by European authors in books of travel, it is only of recent years that accurate information has been acquired of the part played by these Arachnids in transmitting from one host to another protozoal blood-parasites which cause serious or fatal diseases to man and other animals.
Examining a stool sample under a microscope can help to rule out parasitic and protozoal infections.