What specific characteristic makes glochids exceptionally difficult to pull out once embedded in the skin?
Answer
They possess tiny, backward-pointing barbs.
Glochids are minute, hair-like bristles, but their effectiveness as a defense mechanism comes from their microscopic structure. Specifically, they are equipped with tiny barbs that point backward along the shaft of the bristle. When these structures enter the skin barrier, these backward-pointing features act much like miniature fishhooks, causing them to snag firmly within the tissue. This geometry prevents them from being easily retracted or pulled out cleanly, often leading to fragmentation if any attempt is made to dislodge them improperly, thus necessitating specialized removal techniques.
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