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Tapeworm Infestation
| Term Paper Title |
Tapeworm Infestation |
| # of Words |
784 |
| # of Pages (250 words per page double spaced) |
3.14 |
Tapeworm Infestation
Tapeworm Infestation
Charlotte Cox
Causative agent: Tapeworms are parasitic Helmiths of the Phylum Platyhelminthes
(Flatworms) and Class Cestodes. They include Taenia saginata (beef
tapeworm), Taenia solium (pork tapeworm) and Diphyllobothrium latum and
Echinococcus granulosus .
Anatomy: Scolex (head) with suckers, sometimes hooks. Proglottids -body
segments continuously produced by the scolex which contain both testes and
ovaries that mature as they move away from scolex to produce eggs. Taenia
tapeworms can live up to 25 yrs. and grow to 18 ft. D. latum have been found
as long as 32 ft. and can produce millions of eggs per day. Tapeworms lack a
digestive system but obtain food by absorbing it through their cuticle.
Diseases and Symptoms: Usually, none at all - in fact, infection might never be
known. Can cause blockage in digestive tract, appendicitis. If the eggs hatch
in a human, the larvae may cross the intestinal lining and enter the bloodstream,
migrate to different organs in the body and develop into cysticerci (5 mm. - 8
in.). D. latum larvae that infect people are called plerocercoids. Depending
on location and number of cysticerci, pathology can result. Ex:
Cysticerosis- (Taenia genus): eyes - blindness; spinal chord - paralysis; brain
- neurocysticerosis with similar symptoms to brain tumor, causing traumatic
neurological damage. Persons of Sandinavian heritage are susceptible.
Diphyllobothriasis - (D. latum): Abdominal distention, flatulence, cramping,
diarrhea and sometimes anemia parasite has a high affinity for vitamin B12)
Hydatidosis -(E. granulosus): Instead of cysticerci, egg develops into a hyatid
cyst. Have been found large enough to contain four gallons of fluid. Damage is
due to cysts
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