The third stage larva of pseudophyllidean tapeworms, which has a solid body.
n. a larval stage of certain tapeworms, such as *Diphyllobothrium latum. It differs from the *cysticercus (another larval form) in being solid and in lacking a cyst or bladder.
n. a genus of large tapeworms that can grow to a length of 3–10 m. The adult of D. latum, the broad (or fish) tapeworm, infects fish-eating mammals including humans, in whom it may cause serious anaemia (see diphyllobothriasis). The parasite has two intermediate hosts: a freshwater crustacean and a fish (see also plerocercoid).... diphyllobothrium
n. the larvae of certain tapeworms, including species of *Diphyllobothrium and Spirometra, which may infect humans (see sparganosis). They are actually *plerocercoids, but the generic name Sparganum is sometimes given to them since they fail to develop into adults and definite classification of the species is not possible from the larvae alone.... sparganum
(cestode) n. any of a group of flatworms that have a long thin ribbon-like body and live as parasites in the intestines of humans and other vertebrates. The body of a tapeworm consists of a head (scolex), a short neck, and a strobila made up of a chain of separate segments (proglottides). Mature proglottides, full of eggs, are released from the free end of the worm and pass out in the host’s stools. Eggs are then ingested by an intermediate host, in whose tissues the larval stages develop (see plerocercoid; cysticercus; hydatid). Humans are the primary hosts for some tapeworms (see Taenia; Hymenolepis). However, other genera are also medically important (see Diphyllobothrium; Dipylidium; Echinococcus).... tapeworm
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