Scientists were surprised when an isopod like the one depicted above leapt out of a woman's body during surgery. (This is a stock photo.)

(Image credit: Glasshouse Images via Getty Images)

The patient: An 82-year-old woman in Bologna, Italy

The symptoms: The woman was admitted to the hospital with abdominal pain that had worsened over the previous four days. The symptom was accompanied by constipation and episodes of nausea and vomiting.

Mindy Weisberger is a science journalist and author of "Rise of the Zombie Bugs: The Surprising Science of Parasitic Mind-Control" (Hopkins Press). She formerly edited for Scholastic and was a channel editor and senior writer for Live Science. She has reported on general science, covering climate change, paleontology, biology and space. Mindy studied film at Columbia University; prior to LS, she produced, wrote and directed media for the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. Her videos about dinosaurs, astrophysics, biodiversity and evolution appear in museums and science centers worldwide, earning awards such as the CINE Golden Eagle and the Communicator Award of Excellence. Her writing has also appeared in Scientific American, The Washington Post, How It Works Magazine and CNN.