Cestoda

Phylum Platyhelminthes
 Worms of Medical Importance
Nematodes (Round worms) Cestodes (Tape worms) Trematodes (Flukes)
•  Unsegmented •  False segmentation •  Unsegmented
•  Possess mouth, esophagus & anus •  Gut; absent •  Gut; blind sac
•  In general, sexes are separate •  Possess Scolex, neck, & •  Leaf-like; cylindrical
•  Reproduction proglottids •  Generally hermaphroditic
•  Oviparous, Larviparous •  Hermaphroditic •  Reproduction
•  Infection: •  Reproduction •  Oviparous; sometimes
•  Ingestion of eggs •  Oviparous; sometimes multiplication within larval
•  Penetration of larvae through multiplication within larval forms
surfaces forms •  Infection:
•  Arthropod vector •  Infection: •  Mainly by larval stages
•  Ingested of encysted larvae •  Generally by ingested entering the intestinal tract,
encysted larvae sometimes through skin

© DPDx CDC

© Atlas of Medical Helminthology and Protozoology; Hickman Integrated Principles of Zoology

Platyhelminthes Relationships

Figure 14.6 Hypothetical relationships

among parasitic Platyhelminthes.
© Hickman et al., 17th Edition Integrated Principles of Zoology
 © DPDx

External
Anatomy of a
Tapeworm
Figure 14.20 A
tapeworm, showing
strobila and scolex.
The scolex is the organ
of attachment.

© Hickman et al., 17th Edition Integrated Principles of Zoology

Development
Fundamental pattern
1)  Embryogenesis within the egg to result in a larva, Oncosphere.
•  Eucestodes, 3 pairs of hooks, Hexacanths
•  Diphyllobotriidea & some Tetraphyllidea Free-swimming oncospheres,
Coracidia (with a ciliated inner envelope)
2)  Hatching of the oncosphere after or before being eaten by the next
host, where it penetrates to a parenteral (extraintestinal) site
3)  Metamorphosis of the larva in the parenteral site into a juvenile
(metacestode) usually with a scolex
4)  Development of an adult from the metacestode in the intestine
(enteral site) of the same or another host

© Schmidt & Roberts, 9th Edition Foundations of Parasitology

Cestodes
•  Platyhelminthes
•  Flatworms
•  Acoelomate
•  Endoparasites
©Leventhal et al., 6th edition Medical Parasitology: A Self-Instructional Text
 © DPDx

A d u l t H y m e n o l e p i s n a n a
tapeworms. Adults measure 15-40
mm and have a small, rounded
scolex at the anterior end. The
scolex is knoblike with four suckers
and a rostellum bearing 20-30
hooks.

Higher magnification of the scolex. In this image, two of

the suckers and the rostellar hooks are clearly visible.
 Proglottids of H. nana are rarely
found in stool. They are wider than
they are long, measuring 0.2 mm by
0.8 mm, and usually overlap
neighboring proglottids. They are
filled with eggs with no visible
uterus. The adult worm measures
up to 4 cm in length.

© Fritsche et al. Med Para

H. nana: Middle part

of gravid proglottid
© Web atlas, http://atlas.or.kr
 Eggs of H. nana in an unstained wet
mount. Note the presence of hooks in
the oncosphere and polar filaments
within the space between the
oncosphere and outer shell.

© DPDx © DPDx
© DPDx © Web atlas, http://atlas.or.kr

The scolex of T. saginata has four large suckers but lacks the rostellum and rostellar hooks. Note
the four large suckers

© DPDx

Mature proglottid of T. saginata, stained with carmine. Note the primary

uterine branches
 T h e s c o l e x o f T a e n i a
solium contains four large
suckers and a rostellum
containing two rows of large
and small hooks. There are
usually 13 hooks of each size.

© DPDx © DPDx

Scolices of T. solium. Note the four large suckers and rostellum

containing two rows of hooks.
© DPDx © DPDx

Mature proglottid of T. solium, stained with carmine. Note the Mature proglottid of T. solium, stained with
primary uterine branches India ink. Note the primary uterine branches
in the lower specimen
Taenia species adult: typical characteristics at a glance
Taenia saginata Taenia solium
Scolex
•  Number of suckers Four Four
•  Rostellum Absent Present
•  Hooks Absent Present; double crown
Gravid proglottid
•  Appearance/shape Longer than wide Somewhat square
•  Number of lateral branches 15-30 7 to 15
on each side of uterus
© DPDx © DPDx

The eggs of Taenia spp. are indistinguishable from each other, as

well as from other members of the Taeniidae. The eggs measure
30-35 micrometers in diameter and are radially-striated. The
internal oncosphere contains six refractile hooks.
 Adults of Diphyllobothrium latum may
© DPDx

be 4-10 meters in length. The scolex is

elongated, 1 mm by 3 mm, with two
shallow, longitudinal grooves

© DPDx

Section of an adult D. latum containing many

Scolex of D. latum.
proglottids
 As proglottids mature, they may break
off from the strobila, in lengths
containing few to many segments.
Proglottids are broader than they are
long and range from 2 to 4 mm long by
10 to 12 mm wide. The uterus is coiled
in rosette appearance and the genital
pore is at the center of the proglottid.
There are numerous testes that appear
in the lateral fields of each proglottid.

Carmine-stained proglottids of D. latum,

showing the rosette-shaped ovaries.
 Eggs of D. latum in
an unstained wet
mount.

© DPDx © DPDx
 Adult Echinococcus granulosus As dogs and other canids are
showing a scolex and 3
proglottids (immature, mature, the only definitive hosts
and gravid) (Carmine Stain) for Echinococcus, adults are
not expected to be found in
the human host. Adults range
from 3-6 mm in length and
usually consist of a scolex and
three proglottids. The third
(terminal) proglottid is gravid
and is longer than wide. The
scolex contains four suckers
Echinococcus granulosus adult, and a rostellum with 25-50
stained with carmine.
hooks.
© Web atlas, http://atlas.or.kr © DPDx
 Close-up of the scolex of E. granulosus. In this
focal plane, one of the suckers is clearly visible,
© DPDx as is the ring of rostellar hooks.
© DPDx

Egg of Echinococcus sp. in an Echinococcus granulosus Hydatid cyst

unstained wet mount of
concentrated stool from a dog.
Image taken at 400x magnification.
 T h e s c o l e x o f D i p y l i d i u m
caninum is conical-shaped and has
four suckers. There is also a
retractable rostellum armed with
several rings of small spines, used
for anchoring into the host’s tissue.

© DPDx
 © DPDx © Web atlas, http://atlas.or.kr

D. caninum proglottid. The genital pores are clearly visible in the carmine-
stained proglottid.
© DPDx © DPDx

D. caninum egg packet, containing 8 visible eggs, D. caninum egg packet in a wet mount.
in a wet mount
©Leventhal et al., 6th edition Medical Parasitology: A Self-Instructional Text
©Leventhal et al., 6th edition Medical Parasitology: A Self-Instructional Text