Tapeworms, which are segmented Platyhelminths (Flatworms) consisting, in their adult stage, of a scolex for attachment to the gut of the final host, an unsegmented neck region and a long segmented strobila consisting of immature, mature and gravid proglottids (segments).... cestoda
The process of producing or growing new segments (proglottids). This happens near the neck region. A form of asexual reproduction in some cubozoan jellyfish by which miniature medusa-like structures are formed, often one on top of the other, resembling stacked dinner plates.... strobilisation
n. (pl. proglottids or proglottides) one of the segments of a *tapeworm. Mature segments, situated at the posterior end of the worm, each consist mainly of a branched uterus packed with eggs.... proglottis
(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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