Chinese Liver Fluke - Clonorchis sinensis

Chinese liver flukes infect fish-eating mammals, including humans. In humans, it infects the common bile duct and gall bladder, feeding on bile. The fluke passes its lifecycle in three different hosts (freshwater snails as first intermediate hosts, freshwater fish as second intermediate host, and mammals as definitive hosts).

Infection causes jaundice, indigestion, biliary inflammation, bile duct obstruction, liver cirrhosis, cholangiocarcinoma, and hepatic carcinoma.

*cross-section microscope slide

comments (8)

Patomarazul

Lion

OMG! I will still love sushi, though :-D Posted 3 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Yep. Just don't think about it. Posted 3 years ago

Barry

Lion

It's pretty exterior belies its really horrific activity in humans. Posted 3 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Microscopic organisms are so mysterious...and often very scary too ;P. Posted 3 years ago
2. 1. Barry
    
    Lion
    
    They kill vastly more people than macroorganisms.
    Posted 3 years ago
  2. 1. Christine Young
      
      Lion
      
      Yep. Posted 3 years ago

Ferdy Christant

Lion

As said above, pretty and nasty. Great capture, very interesting. Posted 3 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Thanks. Posted 3 years ago

The Chinese Liver Fluke

''Clonorchis sinensis'', the Chinese liver fluke, is a liver fluke belonging to the class Trematoda, phylum Platyhelminthes. It infects fish-eating mammals, including humans. In humans, it infects the common bile duct and gall bladder, feeding on bile. It was discovered by British physician James McConnell at the Medical College Hospital in Calcutta in 1874. The first description was given by Thomas Spencer Cobbold, who named it ''Distoma sinense''. The fluke passes its lifecycle in three different.. more

Info 1 0

Similar species: Plagiorchiida

Species identified by Christine Young