Morphology

scolex
1. Adult neck
Immature
segments

Mature segments
strobilus

Gravid segments
2. Egg of tapeworm

Egg shell
Embryophore
onchosphere

a complete egg An incomplete egg

Egg of tapeworm

Egg shell

A complete egg An incomplete egg

3. Larva: Cysticercus
• Milk white, semitransparent, oval
• 8~10 mm long, like a bean in size
• Bladder-like, having a cyst wall, is filled with
fluid.
• Inside the bladder, there is a scolex
Life cycle
 Life Cycle

60-70 d 2-3 m

Man Adult
Adult Gravid S. egg Pig O. C.
Human feces
man taeniasis
O. C.
Life span: 25 years
cycticercosis
 Important points
1 Human is the host and host.
2 Adults live in ,while cycticerci
live in .
3 Infective stage:
3 Modes of infection ：
4 Pig is the host of this worm.
Symptoms
1.Adult Taeniasis
The adults cause irritation to intestinal
wall with their hooklets and suckers.
Abdominal discomfort, loss of appetite
and weight, finding of gravid segments.
2. Larva Cysticercosis
 Clinic types of cysticercosis
• Subcutaneous or muscular type
nodi in subcutis (oval, movable, no
tenderness). Weakness, loss of energy,
slight pain, false enlarged muscle, etc.
• Cerebral type
nausea, vomiting, headache, epilepsy,
hemeplegia, mental disorder, etc.
• Ocular type: usually found in the deep
part of eyes (vitreous body, subretinal
space,etc), visual disturbance, itching,
pain, etc. When dead, the larva cause
inflammation of eyes and then make loss
of sight.
3 modes of infection with cysticercosis

• Eggs inside the body of the same patient

• Eggs outside the body of the same patient
• Eggs from another patient with teaniasis
Diagnosis
Difference between T. solium and T. saginata

1 Morphology ：
2 Life cycle ：

Intermediate host: cattle,sheep and camel,etc

Infective stage: egg
3. Symptoms
Taeniasis saginata: similar to taeniasis solium.
No cysticercosis siginata in man, the gravid
segment can get out of the anus actively.
itching of anus, finding of gravid S. in feces or
near the anus outside human body.
4. Diagnosis
Epidemiology
 1. Distribution
• Both the tapeworms distributed worldwide,
mainly in Europe, Mid America and India.
• T. solium ： mainly in north, east-north,
west-north China, Yunnan, and Guangxi
province.
• T. saginata ： mainly in Xinjiang, Inner
Mongonia, Tibet 、 Yunnan and Guizhou
province,etc.
2. Factors for endemic
•Environmental contamination by feces
•Improper method for raising pigs and
grazing cattle
•Ingestion or cooking of meat in
unreasonable way
•Poor conditions of sanitation
•Bad personal habits
 Treatment and prevention
1. Treat patients
Taeniasis: Chinese herb medicine( Pumpkin seed
and Areca nut), Praziquantel.
Cysticercosis:
Treatment methods are chosen depending on the
clinic types.
Surgical methods and chemicals (praziquantel)
2. Promote management of washing room,
resource of water, prevent contamination of
pasture by feces.

3. Strictly inspect pork and beef on sale

4. Strengthen healthy education

Scolex of T. solium

Sucker

Hooklet

back
Mature segment of T. solium

testes

uterus

ovary

back
Gravid segment

Uterus:
7~13 branches on
each side

back
Embryophore of tape worm egg

back
Cysticerci of T. solium in pork
Cysticercus of T. solium
Structure of Cysticercus

Cyst wall
Fluid
Scolex

Back
 Life cycle
Life cycle
Patient

Back
Subcutaneous type
False enlarged muscles

back
Ocular
cysticercosis

Ocular
cysticercosis

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Morphological difference
T. solium T. saginata

Lenth 2~4 m 4~8 m

Strobilus 700~1000 S. 1000-2000 S.
Scolex spherical,having 4 suckers squirical having 4
and hooklets suckers, no hooklets

M. S. Ovary: 3 lobes Ovary: 2 lobes

 T. solium T. saginata

G. S. Uterus: 7~13 branches Uterus: 15~30

Cysticercus having hooklets in having no
the scolex, hooklets
cause cysticercosis not live in man

back
Scolex of two tapeworm ：

sucker

hooklet

T. solium T. saginata
back
testes

uterus

ovary
Mature S. of T. solium Mature S. of T. saginata

back
G. S. of T. solium G. S. of T. saginata

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Life cycle of T. saginata

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Ingestion of raw meat

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back