Dipylidium caninum
Dipylidium caninum
Taxonomy
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Platyhelminthes
- Subclass Cestoda
- Order Cyclophyllidea
- Family Dilepididae
- Genus Dipylidium
Final host
Carnivores (humans)
Morphology
Adult up to ≈ 50 cm long The scolex has four suckers and a protusible rostellum which is armed with four rows of hooks Mature proglottids have two sets of genital organs Mature and gravid proglottids are oval-elongate like a large rice grain Gravid proglottis are filled with egg capsules which contain 5-30 eggs
Cycle
Indirect Intermediate hosts: fleas (genus Ctenocephalides) and biting lice (genus Trichodectes)
Location
Small intestine
Feeding
Intestinal contents (absorption by the tegument)
Diagnostic
Gravid segments and eggs packets
Transmission
Cysticercoid in arthropod
