PARASITOLOGY III

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

AIM
✓To expose students to morphological structures of Ascaris
lumbricoides,Enterobius vermicularis and Ancylostoma duodenale.

OBJECTIVES

✓To distinguish and label various organelles of the above mentioned

Nematodes.
✓To describe the causes and effects of the diseases associated with the above
mentioned.
✓To understand Host-Parasite relations.
PARASITES TO BE STUDIED……
❖A. duodenale adult.
❖A. duodenale buccal cavity.
❖A. duodenale ova.

❖E. vermicularis adult.

❖E. vermicularis ova.

❖A. lumbricoides adult.

❖A. lumbricoides ova.
 Ancylostoma duodenale
➢Commonly known as the hookworm

➢It is a gut parasite that commonly infects miners, agricultural workers and children.

➢Infection is characterized by an inflammation of the skin at the point of entry and it is accompanied by
itching or even blisters.

➢Anaemia is the most common symptom mainly because the adult hookworm attaches firmly to the
mucous membrane of the small intestine to feed on blood and tissue thus resulting in loss of blood.

➢Adults are stout and cylindrical with males being shorter than females.

➢The male has a copulatory bursa which is used to grip the female during copulation.
Ancylostoma duodenale

testis
Mouth
pharynx
Copulatory bursa
Used to grip female
Buccal cavity
➢The mouth of A.duodenale is oval and dorsally displaced.

➢Within the buccal cavity there is a presence of sharp buccal teeth that are used
to attach to the mucous membrane of the small intestine in order to feed.
Buccal cavity of Ancylostoma duodenale

mouth
Buccal cavity
Buccal teeth
 Ancylostoma duodenale ova
➢A.duodenale eggs are characterized by the presence of a very thin egg shell that
encloses embryonated cells.

➢The ova passes from the host to the exterior via faeces.

➢It will then hatch into a free-living stage larva ONLY under warm and moist
conditions.

➢The free-living larva will feed on bacteria and mould twice into an infective third
stage larva.

➢This third stage larva will then enter the host(man) either by penetrating the skin or
via the mouth when ingesting contaminated food or drinking contaminated water.
Ancylostoma duodenale ova

Thin egg shell

Embryonated cells
 Enterobius vermicularis
➢This parasite commonly infects pre-school and school children.

➢The adult resides in the colon and rectum and the young worms reside in the ileum.

➢Severe itching around the peri-anal region of children is the most common indicator of the
presence of this parasite.

➢Lack of bathing or wearing soiled clothes favours the transmission of E.vermicularis.

➢The males are smaller than females and have a truncated posterior end.

➢The females have a long tapering pointed tail and the vulva is located midventral from the
anterior end.
Enterobius vermicularis adult

Pointed tail

vulva
 Enterobius vermicularis ova
➢E.vermicularis ova has a unique plano-convex shape (i.e flattened dorsally and convex
ventrally).

➢The shell is transparent and encloses a coiled tadpole larva.

➢The ova contaminates bed linen and toilet seats to name quite a few.

➢It can survive for long periods ONLY if the atmosphere is cool, moist and there is poor
ventilation.

➢E. vermicularis eggs are deposited by a gravid female at NIGHT around the peri-anal skin.

➢These eggs will develop once they reach the intestines of the host (man).
Enterobius vermicularis ova

Transparent shell

Coiled
tadpole
larvae
 Ascaris lumbricoides
➢These are large Nematodes that infects/affects the intestines of vertebrates and
man is used as the primary host.

➢When A.lumbricoides occurs in large numbers, it has the potential to consume the
digestive nutrients of the host and as a result, intestinal obstruction can occur.

➢The adults (male and female) are cylindrical and pointed at both ends.

➢The males have a ventrally curved posterior end and it bears a cloacal opening.

➢The females have a slit like anus that is situated towards the posterior end, the
vulva is located mid-ventrally from the anterior end.
Ascaris lumbricoides adult

mouth

Excretory pore

Tail bearing cloacal

opening
 Ascaris lumbricoides ova
➢A. lumbricoides is oval with a rough and bumpy shell that is covered by a protein
membrane.

➢Depending on the stage of development of the egg, a developing embryo or

juvenile is present inside.

➢The eggs are passed through with faeces.

➢Under ideal conditions they can develop into first larval stage and then mould ONCE
to give rise to a second infective larval stage( all this occurs within the egg capsule).

➢The infective larval stage can find its way to the liver and lungs, this can result in
extensive damage such as Loeffler’s pneumonia.
Ascaris lumbricoides ova

Protein membrane coat

Embryo/juvenile

Thick shell