Taenia solium
Taenia solium
Taxonomy
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Platyhelminthes
- Subclass Cestoda
- Order Ciclophyllidea
- Family Taeniidae
- Genus Taenia
Final host
Humans
Morphology
Adult: tape shaped and ≈ 3-5 m long Scolex has four suckers and is armed with a rostellum that bears two rows of hooks Mature proglottids with a single set of genital organs The ovary is in the posterior third of the proglottid and has two lobes with an accessory third lobe Gravid proglottids are longer than wide and have an uterus with 7-12 lateral branches on either side The small and spherical eggs (≈ 30 - 45 µm) have a radially striated embryophore with a six-hooked oncosphere The cisticercus (Cysticercus cellulosae) has a fluid-filled bladder that (≈ 0.5-1.5 cm long) with an invaginated scolex
Cycle
Indirect Intermediate host: pigs (humans can also act as intermediate host)
Location
Small intestine
Feeding
Intestinal contents (absorption by the tegument)
Diagnostic
Gravid segments and eggs (final host) Cysticercus (intermediate host)
Transmission
Teniosis: Cysticercus cellulosae (pig muscle) Cisticercosis: egg (faecal- oral route)