Platyhelminthes

flatworms
 Multicelled
 Usually leaf-like, tape like rarely cyclindrical
 With three body layer
 Lacks body cavity, circulatory and respiratory
structures
 Sexual organs are highly elaborated and
complicated
 Involves 2 or more hosts
 Consist of three classes
– Class Tubelaria
– Class Trematodea
– Class Cestodea
 Cestoidea
– Order Pseudophyllidea- with ventral
groove
– Order Cyclophyllidea- with 4
suckers, armed or unarmed, sex
pores that opens laterally
Cestodes or
Tapeworms
 Habitat is in the small intestine
 Larvae inhabits the tissue
 Flattened, elongated ribbon like
 No circulatory system
 Body is divided by segment or proglottids
 Hermaphrodites
 No digestive system
 Nervous system confides in the scolex
 Regions of the body
– Scolex- hold fast organ
– Neck- area of growth
– Proglottids
 Immature
 Mature

 Gravid
Taenia solium
 Pork tapeworm
 Small intestine
 2-7 meters with 800 to 1000 segments
 Armed scolex
 Testis is distributed throughout the dorsal
plane
 With genital pore
 Gravid segment with uterine branches
 Mature egg is spherical, thick striated, fully
developed oncospere with 3 pairs of hooklets
 Stays in the jejunum
 Lifespan- 25 years or more
 Pigs- intermediate host
 Pathology- abdominal discomfort, chronic
indigestion, diarrhea
 Diagnosis- stool analysis, scotch tape swab
 Treatment- praziquantel,
niclosmide, quanacrine
 Cystecercus cellulosae- larval infection
of T. solium usually infects pig but
human can also be infected
 1. ingestion of food and water contaminated
by human waste
 Oral transmission by unclea hands of carriers
of the adult worms
 Internal autoinfection by the regurgitation of
eggs into the stomach by reverse peristalsis.
 Treatment- praziquantel or
albendazole
Taenia saginata
 Beef tapeworm
 5-10 meters up to 25m
 1,000- 2,000 segments
 Unarmed scolex
Dipylidium caninum
 Double pored tapeworm
 Dog tapeworm
 10-70cm
 4 prominent deeply cupped suckers and
armed rostellum rose thorn shaped spines.
 Neck is short and slender
 Mature and gravid segment are typically
pumpkinseed or vase shaped.
 Double set of reproductive organ with genital
pore on each lateral margin of the proglottid.
Life cycle
 Adult in small intestine
 Gravid proglottids detach from the strobila
and pass out of the feces
 Capsules with eggs released from the
ruptures segments
 Eggs in capsule ingested by flea
 Onscosphere is liberated and penetrate
the GUT into homocoel
 Cysticercoid larvae develops into homocoel
 Infective I.H. ingested by
definitive host
 Cysticercoid larvae liberated in
the small intestine
 Adult in the small intestine
Pathology and
diagnosis
 Slight intestinal disturbance
 Loss of appetite
 Pruritus ani diarrhea
 Recovery of capsules or
proglottids out in the feces
 Praziquantel, niclosamide,
quanacrine
Hymenolepsis nana
 Dwarf tapeworm
 2-4 cm
 Rhomboidal scolex has 4 sucker and
bears a short, refractile rostelum armed
with a single ring 20-30 Y shaped spines
 Broad mature segment with single
genital pore on the sides 3 round testis
and bilobed ovary
Pathology and
treatment
 No symptoms
 In heavy infection cause
autoinfectiom, diarrhea, abdominal
pain, headache, anorexia
 Eggs in the stool
 Praziquantel, niclosamide used as
an alternative
Hymenolepis diminuta
 Rat tapeworm
 10-60 cm
 800-1300 proglottids
 Small club shape scolex with 4
cupshaped suckers and
rudimentary unarmed rostellum
Life cycle
 Adult in the small intestine
 Eggs pass out in the feces
 Eggs ingested by intermediate host
 Cysticercoid develops
 Infected intermediate host ingested by man
 Cystecercoid breaks out of intestinal villi to the
lumen
 Scolex attaches to the mucosa of the small
intestine
Pathology and
treatment
 Light infection to man
 There is no autoinfection
 Stool diagnosis
 Niclosamide is the drug of choice
praziquantel is the alternative.
Echinococcus
granulosus
 Hydatid worm
 Smallest tape worm
 0.27 to 0.9 cm in length
 Pyriform scolex with 4 suckers and with
armed rostellum with 28-50 hooklets
 With short neck and 3 proglottids
 Lives 5-29 mos. In dogs as usual
definitive host
Life cycle
 Adults in the small intestine
 Eggs in the feces of dogs
 Ingested by man
 Oncosphere hatch, penetrate intestinal wall
 Larvae enters the lymphatics
 In blood circulation
 Hydatid cyst in liver, lungs of intermediate host
 Hydatid ingested by dogs
 Scolices attach to small intestine of the dog
Hydatid cyst
 Unilocular hydatid cyst is a slow-growing, tyumor
like space occupying structure ebclosed by a
laminated geminitive membrane. This membrane
produces structures on it’s wall called brood
capsule where tapeworm scolices arise.
 The brood capsules and daughter cyst
disintegrates within the mother cyst liberating the
accumulated protoscolices known as the hydatid
sand.
 Mechanical or toxic pathology
 Unilocular cyst found in the bone
canal is known as the casseous
hydatid cyst
 In the brain may cause severe
damage
Diagnosis and
treatment
 Radiological examination
 Ultrasound
 Mebendazole or albendazole as
drug of choice
Diphyllobothrium
latum
 Broad fish tapeworm
 Ivory colored tapeworm
 Longest tapeworm in man
 3-10 m with 3,000-4,000 proglottids
 Ileum and the jejenum
 Spatulate, almond shaped with 2
dorsoventral sucking grooves
 Single worm may discharge as many as 1
million ova daily
 Eggs are broadly ovoid with
inconspicuous operculum
 Thick shelled light golden brown
with a knob on the bottom of the
egg
Life cycle
 Small intestine
 Ova in the water
 Copepods of the genera cyclops and
diaptomus serves as the first
intermediate host
 Pike, salmon, whitefish and turbot serves
as the secondary intermediate host
 Ingestion of the secondary host
Pathology and
diagnosis