Fasciola hepatica
Fasciola hepatica
Taxonomy
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Platyhelminthes
- ClassTrematoda
- Subclass Digenea
- Order Echinostomata
- Family Fasciolidae
- Genus Fasciola
Final host
Herbivorous mammals
Morphology
Adult: leaf-shaped (≈ 2.5 - 3.5 cm x 1 cm), anterior end is conical Ventral sucker located at the level of the shoulders Tegument covered with bacwardly projecting microscopic spines Intestinal ceca, testes and ovary are multi-branched Vitelline glands fill the side margins of the body The ovary is placed to the right of the ootype The testes ocupy the posterior two-thirds of the body The uterus is anterior to the testes The eggs are large (≈ 130-150 × 65- 90 µm) with an operculate golden-yellow shell enterely filled with granular contents
Cycle
Indirect with one intermediate host: amphibious snail (Galba truncatula)
Location
Liver: larger bile ducts
Feeding
Juveniles: liver parenchimal tissue Adults: haematophagous
Diagnostic
Egg
Transmission
Metacercaria (environmental)