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Cestoda (tapeworm)
Epidemiology:
- cestodes (tapeworns) live in intestinal tracts of vertebrate species in their adult forms & in tissues or body cavities of intermediary hosts as larvae
- they attach to the intestinal mucosa via a scolex (head) that may have suckers, bothria (groove) or a rostellum with hooks
- the strobila or body of the worm contains an actively growing neck region & a series of proglottids that undergo sequential development to gravid forms at the posterior end
- adults lack an intestinal tract & absorb all nutrients through their integument [2]
- each proglottid has both male & female gonads & is capable of producing fertile eggs
- eggs of cestodes infecting humans (except Diphyllobothrium) contain a 6-hooked embryo
- long lengths of strobila may pass in the feces & proglottids may actively migrate out of the anus.
- infections is usually fecal-oral transmission or ingestion of contaminated, undercooked meat [2]
Clinical manifestations:
- most tapeworm infections are asymptomatic [2]
- abdominal discomfort, anorexia, weight loss, fatigue most common symptoms
* images [2,3]
Related
bothrium
rostellum
scolex
Specific
Cyclophyllidae
Diphyllobothrium (fish tapeworm)
Dipylidium
Echinococcus
Hymenolepis
Mesocestoides
Taenia
General
platyhelminth (flatworm)
Properties
KINGDOM: animal
PHYLUM: helminth
References
- Clinical Diagnosis & Management by Laboratory Methods,
19th edition, J.B. Henry (ed), W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia,
PA. 1996, pg 1287
- Grimm L
What's Eating You: 12 Common Intestinal Parasites.
Medscape. November 25, 2019
https://reference.medscape.com/slideshow/intestinal-parasites-6010996
- Grim L
You've Got Worms! Common Intestinal Parasites
Medscape. Jan 23, 2023
https://reference.medscape.com/slideshow/intestinal-parasites-6014593