HELMINTHS:

STRUCTURE,
CLASSIFICATION AND
IDENTIFICATION

Emilio Rivas Cruz

Luis Eduardo Guzmán
Ayelen Xicohtencatl Muñoz
CLASSIFICATION
FLAT WORMS
PLATYHELMINTHS
Up to 10 or 12m in length.

Most are leaf-shaped and hermaphroditic, except for Schistosomas Sp

which are cylindrical and with separate sexes. Almost all are
endoparasites of all classes of vertebrates. They have two suction cups,
one anterior and one central or acetabulum, and some have accessory
suction cups, which are fixing organs made up of neurons.
● Their body is flat.
● They exhibit bilateral symmetry.
● They are triploblastic, with three germ layers.
● They do not have a body cavity and are acoelomate.
● They are mostly parasitic with a few free-living
● The digestive system is incomplete or absent.
● Respiratory and circulatory systems are absent.
● The excretory system has protonephridia with the flame
● These animals are hermaphrodites.
● Sexual reproduction happens through gametic fusion.
● Asexual reproduction also happens in a few species through regeneration
and fission.
CESTODES
They live in the intestines of some animals. Animals can become
infected with these parasites when grazing in pastures or drinking
contaminated water, eating undercooked meat from infected animals is
the main cause of tapeworm infection in people. Although tapeworms in
humans
“Tapeworms”
● Flat, ribbon-like organisms
● Cestodes have a head, called a scolex, which has suckers.
● They do not have digestive tract
● They do not have a body cavity
● They are monecious(hemaphrodites)
TREMATODES
There are more than 10,000 species of flukes. They occur worldwide
and range in size from about 5 millimetres (0.2 inch) to several
centimetres; most do not exceed 100 millimetres (4 inches) in length,
they parasitize humans, domestic animals, and invertebrates such as
mollusks and crustaceans. Some are external parasites (ectoparasites),
some attach themselves to internal organs (endoparasites), others are
semi-external, attaching themselves to the lining of the mouth, to the
gills, or to the cloaca
“Flukes”

● Dorso-ventrally flattened
● Unsegmented
● Leaf-like
● Hermaphroditic except blood flukes
● Incomplete digestive tract
● Most of the body is occupied by reproductive organs
● Body covered by cuticle
● Oral and ventral sucker
ROUND WORMS
Are a group of worms that make up the phylum Nematoda. With well
over 15,000 species identified today, they can be found in different
habitats ranging from terrestrial to marine environments. Nematodes
exist as free living organisms in terrestrial and aquatic environments or
as parasites of both plants and animals.
NEMATODES
● Their body is bilaterally symmetrical and triploblastic.
● They are cylindrical in shape.
● They exhibit tissue level organization.
● Their body has a cavity or pseudocoelom.
● The alimentary canal is distinct, with the mouth and the anus.
● They are sexually dimorphic.
● They are devoid of the circulatory system and respiratory system.
● They are free-living or parasitic.
● Parasitic nematodes cause diseases in the host.
● Fertilization is internal and reproduction is sexual.
● Their cuticle moults periodically.
● The epidermis is synctical and contains dorsal or ventral nerve cords.
● The body-wall muscles are longitudinal.
● They possess amoeboid sperm cells.
● They consist of chemosensory organs called aphids situated on the
lips.
IDENTIFICATION
PROCEDURE (optimum method)
1. Examination of a non pass 4-6
hrs dead host.
2. Full Necropsy = examination of
all major organs
3. Wash over a 106 mm sieve
4. Stereo microscope
5. Count & Fixation
FIXATION

Preservation of
morphological and molecular
characteristics of the tissue.
● 70% Ethanol
● 10% Buffered formalin
● Alcohol-formalin-acetic
acid
SPECIES IDENTIFICATION

For differentiation it is use the:

● Lactofenol for the elimination of
nematodes and small
acanthocephalans.
● Harris´hematoxylin or Semichon
´s carmine for the stain of
trematodes, cestodes, and large
acanthocephalans.
TAXONOMIC IDENTIFICATION

Especially to species:
● Takes much time
● It may require the
submission of specimens
to an expert or DNA
analysis.
REFERENCIAS
Phylum Platyhelminthes: Characteristics, Examples, Questions & Videos. (2019,
December 10). Retrieved from
https://www.toppr.com/guides/biology/animal-kingdom/phylum-platyhelminthes/

Sepúlveda M. Kinsella J. (2013) Helminth Collection and Identification from Wildlife.

Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4048360/

Castro G. Helminths: Structure, Classification, Growth, and Development [Internet].

Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. 2020 [cited 4 May 2020]. Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8282/