Tapeworm word meaning and definition

[noun] ribbon-like flatworms that are parasitic in the intestines of humans and other vertebrates

\Tape"worm`\, n. (Zo["o]l.) Any one of numerous species of cestode worms belonging to T[ae]nia and many allied genera. The body is long, flat, and composed of numerous segments or proglottids varying in shape, those toward the end of the body being much larger and longer than the anterior ones, and containing the fully developed sexual organs. The head is small, destitute of a mouth, but furnished with two or more suckers (which vary greatly in shape in different genera), and sometimes, also, with hooks for adhesion to the walls of the intestines of the animals in which they are parasitic. The larv[ae] (see {Cysticercus}) live in the flesh of various creatures, and when swallowed by another animal of the right species develop into the mature tapeworm in its intestine. See Illustration in Appendix. Note: Three species are common parasites of man: the {pork tapeworm} ({T[ae]nia solium}), the larva of which is found in pork; the {beef tapeworm} ({T. mediocanellata}), the larva of which lives in the flesh of young cattle; and the {broad tapeworm} ({Bothriocephalus latus}) which is found chiefly in the inhabitants of the mountainous regions of Europe and Asia. See also {Echinococcus}, {Cysticercus}, {Proglottis}, and 2d {Measles}, 4.

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