n. (pl. filariae) any of the long threadlike nematode worms that, as adults, are parasites of human connective and lymphatic tissues capable of causing disease. They include the genera *Brugia, *Loa, *Onchocerca, and *Wuchereria. Filariae differ from the intestinal nematodes (see hookworm) in that they undergo part of their development in the body of a bloodsucking insect, e.g. a mosquito, on which they subsequently depend for their transmission to another human host. See also microfilaria. —filarial adj.
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