Appearance
''Trichinella'' species, the smallest nematode parasite of humans, has an unusual lifecycle, and are one of the most widespread and clinically important parasites in the world. The small adult worms mature in the small intestine of a definitive host, such as a pig. Each adult female produces batches of live larvae, which bore through the intestinal wall, enters the blood and lymphatic system, and are carried to striated muscle. Once in the muscle, they encyst, or become enclosed in a capsule.Humans can become infected by eating infected pork, horsemeat, or wild carnivores such as fox, cat, hyena or bear.Males of ''T. spiralis'' measure between 1.4 and 1.6 mm long, and are more flat anteriorly than posteriorly. The anus can be found in the terminal end, and they have a large copulatory pseudobursa on each side. The females of ''T. spiralis'' are about twice the size of the males, and have an anus found terminally. The vulva is located near the esophagus. The single uterus of the female is filled with developing eggs in the posterior portion, while the anterior portion contains the fully developed juveniles.
References:
Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.
