Chapter
7
Introduction
t Helminthology
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7.1 General
Comments
Helminthology includes the study
of:
Phylum: Platyhelminthes
- flatworms
Class:
Trematoda - the flukes
Example:
Dicrocoelium dendriticum
Class:
Eucestroda - the true cestodes or tapeworms.
Example:
Taenia pisiformis
Class:
Cotyloda - the pseudotapeworms
Example:
Diphyllobothrium latum
Phylum:
Nematoda - roundworms
Example:
Dirofilaria immitis
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Phylum:
Nematomorpha
These are often called "horse-hair
worms". A common genus is Gordius sp. Their larvae are often
parasitic in insects, centipedes and millipedes. Neither the adults
nor the larvae are parasitic in domestic animals, but the adults may
be mistaken for parasites.
Phylum: Acanthocephala
- thorny-headed worms
Example:
Macracanthorhynchus hirudianaceus
Figure
3.1 provides a comparative study of
the ova of various helminth parasites. Egg identification is an
important component of the clinical diagnosis of
parasitism.
Sequenc of study:
- 1. Trematodes (flukes) of domestic
animals
- 2. Cestodes (tapeworms) of domestic
animals
- 3. Nematodes of domestic
animals
Figure
3.1: Ova of Various Helminths
(All Drawn to
same scale)
