Tapeworm: Difference between revisions

A tapeworm's life cycle starts as an egg(once contained in a proglottid) that has been excreted in a host's feces. Once eaten by the intermediate host the egg travels to the intestine where it hatches. The newly hatched larvae(in most species it has a fully developed scolex) than burrows into and through the intestine wall into an organ or the body cavity.  [http://animals.jrank.org/pages/1527/Tapeworms-Cestoda-BEHAVIOR-REPRODUCTION.html] The larvae stays in an organ(for example; the muscles, eyes, brain or almost any other organ of the body) of the intermideate .(Porch, p458) Once it is eaten by the intermedeate host it goes through the digestive system to the small intestine wherhost(which can be almost any vertebrate) untill it is consumed by the [[final host]], though some species have multiple [[intermedeate hosts]] the scolices of larvae attatch. After attatchment to the inside of the intestine the tapeworm starts producing proglottids and the strobila(the bulk of the tapeworm's body) forms. After more developement the proglotteds start producing eggs.[http://animals.jrank.org/pages/1527/Tapeworms-Cestoda-BEHAVIOR-REPRODUCTION.html] When fully matured a proglottid breaks off(a terminal proglotted) it is excreted in the host's feces.[http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/sci/A0861442.html]

Tapeworms are [[parasitic flatworms]] meaning they spend their adult life inside of a host.[http://www.righthealth.com/Health/Tape%20Worms-s?lid=goog-ads-sb-8536643334] As an egg it stays on the ground or in the feces of the parent's host untill consumed by the intermediate host. The egg passes through most of the digestive system, thus at that short stage of life their enviornment is the digestive tract of the intermediate host. Once they reach the small intestine they hatch and the larvae burrows through the intestine wall. The second enviornmentin which they stay is in an organ(the brain, muscles, eyes and nearly any other organ) in their intermediate host. The tapeworm's final enviornment is its final host where it stays in the small intestine.(Porch, p458)

 

The tapeworm stays in the small intestine of its host for its entire adult life protected by a thick tegument. It must live there due to the fact that it has no digestive tract of its own thus it must absorbe the nutrents where most of the digestive work has been done.[http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec14/ch184/ch184a.html]