n. a genus of parasitic protozoans (see Sporozoa) that infect birds, reptiles, and herbivorous mammals. S. lindemanni, which occasionally infects humans, forms cylindrical cysts (sarcocysts) in the muscle fibres. In heavy infections these cysts can cause tissue degeneration and therefore provoke muscular pain and weakness. Sarcocysts have, in the few positively diagnosed cases, been located in the heart muscles, arm muscles, and larynx.
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