Long flat worms in cats10/7/2023 ![]() ![]() Each segment making up the tail is like a separate independent body, with an independent digestive system and reproductive tract. (The tapeworm’s body is basically a head segment to hold on with, a neck, and many tail segments). Once docked like a boat to the host intestinal wall, the tapeworm begins to grow a long tail. ( Photocredit: Public Domain Graphic, CDC Division of Parasitic Diseases.) Tapeworms are not spread from pet to pet directly they are spread by swallowing fleas. The tiny tapeworm looks for a place to latch on to the host's intestine so it can grow a full body. The body of the flea is digested away releasing the tiny tapeworm, which is at this point mostly a head with hooks and suction cups. The dog or cat becomes infected after swallowing a flea that is carrying a larval tapeworm. ![]() The segments are very flat, like a piece of tape, hence the name of the worm. The entire tapeworm is quite long, 6 inches or more in length, which most people find surprising as all they usually see are the small egg sac segments which are about the size of a sesame seed or grain of rice. It is generally regarded as a fairly disgusting creature but causes very little harm to its host. It lives there without causing too much trouble, absorbing nutrients through its skin and dropping egg sacs off the end of its tail. The adult Dipylidium caninum lives in the small intestine of the dog or cat, where it is attached to the intestinal wall by several suckers as well as by a structure called a rostellum which resembles a hat with hooks on it. Is the "hat." The round structures are suckers. ( Photocredit: Public Domain Graphic, CDC Division of Parasitic Diseases) The thick end is the tail where segments drop off. (for information on the Taenia species of tapeworms, click here)Īdult Dipylidium. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |