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Cestodes LAB

Cestodes, or tapeworms, belong to the class Cestoda and have a flat, ribbon-like body structure with distinct parts including the scolex, neck, and strobila of proglottids. They lack a digestive system and absorb nutrients through their tegument, with various species affecting humans as definitive or intermediate hosts. Notable species include Taenia solium, Taenia saginata, and Echinococcus, each with specific life cycles and associated health risks.

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Janprof Flores
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2 views

Cestodes LAB

Cestodes, or tapeworms, belong to the class Cestoda and have a flat, ribbon-like body structure with distinct parts including the scolex, neck, and strobila of proglottids. They lack a digestive system and absorb nutrients through their tegument, with various species affecting humans as definitive or intermediate hosts. Notable species include Taenia solium, Taenia saginata, and Echinococcus, each with specific life cycles and associated health risks.

Uploaded by

Janprof Flores
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Cestodes (Tapeworms)

Classification & Body Structure:


1. Class: Cestoda, Phylum Platyhelminthes
2. Body: Flat and ribbonlike, white or yellowish
3. Parts:
o Scolex: Anterior attachment organ
o Neck: Short region after the scolex
o Strobila: Chain of segments (proglottids)
Proglottids:
 Immature: Near the neck, undeveloped structures
 Mature: Middle of the chain, with reproductive organs
 Gravid: Terminal part, filled with eggs
Attachment & Nutrition:
 Attachment: Scolex with suckers or bothria
 Nutrition: Absorbed through the tegument, no digestive system
Orders & Scolex Types:
1. Order Pseudophyllidea: Scolex with bothria
2. Order Cyclophyllidea: Scolex with cup-shaped suckers
Life Cycle:
 Definitive Host: Where the adult tapeworm matures (e.g., humans)
 Intermediate Host: Hosts the larval form
Important Species & Hosts:
1. Dibothriocephalus latus: Definitive host - humans
2. Taenia saginata: Definitive host - humans
3. Hymenolepis diminuta: Definitive host - humans
4. Taenia solium: Humans as both definitive and intermediate hosts
5. Hymenolepis nana: Humans as both definitive and intermediate hosts
6. Echinococcus: Humans as intermediate hosts only
Extraintestinal Infection:
 More serious than infection with adult worms
Dibothriocephalus latus (Broad Fish Tapeworm)
General Information:
 Distribution: Found almost worldwide, particularly in northern temperate areas where
people eat pickled or undercooked freshwater fish.
 Symptoms: pernicious anemia (B12)
Morphology:
 Eggs:
o Ovoid shape
o Approximately 70 µm long and 50 µm wide
o Have an operculum (a lid-like structure) for the embryo to escape
o Smooth shell, moderate thickness, yellowish-brown color

Adult Worm:
o Several meters in length
o Scolex (head):
 Elongate and spoon/almond/spatulate-shaped
 Has two longitudinal grooves called bothria
o Segments:
 wider than they are long, contain a rosette-
shaped uterus in the center
Life Cycle
Intermediate Hosts:
 First Intermediate Host (1st IH): Freshwater crustaceans (copepods)
 Second Intermediate Host (2nd IH): Freshwater Fish
Spirometra spp. (Sparganosis)
General Morphology:
 Sparganum Larvae:
o Wrinkled, whitish, ribbon-shaped
o Few millimeters wide and up to several centimeters long
o Anterior end can invaginate and shows signs of sucking
grooves

Life Cycle:
Infective Stages:
 Procercoid Larvae: Ingested through contaminated water, causes sparganosis
 Plerocercoid Larvae: Found in tissues of cold-blooded vertebrates
Taenia solium (Pork Tapeworm)
General Morphology:
 Adult Length: 2 to 7 meters
 Scolex : Muscular with four suckers and a double crown of hooks for
attachment
 Proglottids:
o Mature Segments: Wider than
o Gravid Segments: Longer than wide (7-13 branches)
 Eggs: Thick, radially striated coat called the embryophore; dark brown
color
 Larvae (Oncosphere): Six-hooked embryo
Life Cycle:

Infective Stages:
 Cysticercus cellulosae: Intestinal infection from ingested infected meat
 Eggs: Larvae released, invading various organs causing cysticercosis (neurocysticercosis if brain is
involved)
Taenia saginata (Beef Tapeworm)
General Morphology:
 Adult Length: Typically less than 12.5 meters, but can exceptionally reach up to 25 meters
 Scolex (Head): Unarmed with four muscular suckers and no hooks (differentiates from T. solium)
 Segments (Proglottids):
o Mature Proglottids: Wider than long or nearly square
o Gravid Proglottids: Longer than wide, with 15 to 20 primary uterine branches

Infective Stages:
 Cysticercus bovis: Causes intestinal infection when ingested from infected cattle meat
Echinococcus Species (Hydatid Disease)
General Information:
 Species: Echinococcus granulosus, E. multilocularis, and E. vogeli
 Hosts: Adult worms found in Canidae; humans are hosts to the larval stage (hydatid).
General Morphology:
 Adult Worm:
o Length: 0.6 cm or less
o Structure: Scolex, neck, and three proglottids (one
immature, one mature, one gravid)
 Eggs:
o Contain an embryo called an onchosphere or hexacanth
with six hooklets
o Eggs cannot be distinguished from those of Taenia

Life Cycle:
 Definitive Hosts: Dogs and other Canidae
 Intermediate Hosts:
o E. granulosus: Sheep (pastoral cycle) and wolves (sylvatic cycle)
o E. multilocularis and E. vogeli: Various hosts
 Transmission:
Hydatid Cysts:
 E. granulosus: Unilocular cysts with fluid
 E. multilocularis: Alveolar or multilocular cysts with little fluid
 E. vogeli: Polycystic hydatid cysts

Infective Stages:
 Infective Stage: Embryonated egg
Dipylidium caninum (Double-Pored Dog Tapeworm)
General Morphology
 Adult Worm:
o 15 cm to 80 cm
o Armed scolex with four suckers and a conical,
retractile rostellum with rows of small hooks
o Mature proglottids: longer than wide

Life Cycle
 Infective Stage: Cysticercoid larvae in fleas
 Intermediate Host: Cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis), dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis), or human
flea (Pulex irritans)

Egg:
Hymenolepis nana (Dwarf Tapeworm)
General Morphology
 Size: Smallest tapeworm, 25-40 mm in length.
 Scolex: Armed with four suckers and a rostellum with one
circle of hooks.
 Proglottids: Wider than long, containing one set of male and
female reproductive organs.
 Eggs: Broadly ovoid, 30-47 µm, six-hooked (hexacanth)
oncosphere with two polar thickenings and polar filaments.
Life Cycle
 Direct Cycle: Embryonated egg is the infective stage.
 Indirect Cycle: Cysticercoid larva is the infective stage.
Hymenolepis diminuta (Rat Tapeworm)
General Morphology
 Size: Adults typically 20 to 50 cm long, up to 4 mm wide. The largest reported specimen from a
person is 1 meter.
 Scolex: Unarmed, with four suckers and a small rostellum without hooks.
 Eggs: Slightly ovoid and brown, with a thick striated coat. The oncosphere is enclosed in a
membrane with two polar thickenings but no polar filaments.

Life Cycle
 Intermediate Host: Arthropods (e.g., flour moths, flour beetles).

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