What is the meaning of Cestodes?

Cestoda is a class of parasitic worms in the flatworm phylum (Platyhelminthes). Most of the species—and the best-known—are those in the subclass Eucestoda; they are ribbon-like worms as adults, known as tapeworms. Some cestodes are host-specific, while others are parasites of a wide variety of hosts.

What is the meaning of scolex?

Definition of scolex : the head of a tapeworm either in the larva or adult stage.

What are Cestodes and trematodes?

Cestodes (tapeworms) and Trematodes (flukes) are two Classes of the Phylum Platyhelminthes. Tapeworms live in the intestines of vertebrates and their larval forms occur in the flesh of animals on which these vertebrates feed.

What is the name of the head of a tapeworm?

scolex
The head of tapeworms, scolex, contains structures, such as grooves, suckers or hooks, which enable the worm to attach to the gut wall. The major part of the tapeworm is called strobila and it consists of segments, proglottids.

What is the meaning of gravid Proglottids?

We define a gravid proglottid as one that contains uterine branches filled with eggs. An immature proglottid is defined as one that does not have a fully mature reproductive system and is without eggs.

Which of the following is a cestode?

tapeworm, also called cestode, any member of the invertebrate class Cestoda (phylum Platyhelminthes), a group of parasitic flatworms containing about 5,000 species.

What are the general characteristics of cestode?

Cestodes are long, flat, ribbon-like organisms commonly called tapeworms. The head, or scolex, has one or more hooked suckers for firm attachment to the host. Behind the head is the neck which is the growing region. The body consists of segments, each containing reproductive organs.

Is tapeworm a Cestode?

What is the science definition of a cestode?

Science definitions for cestode. Any of various parasitic flatworms of the class Cestoda, having a long flat body that usually has a specialized organ of attachment at one end (the scolex). Cestodes may consist of a single segment or be divided into numerous identical rectangular segments.

What kind of life history does a Cestoda have?

All cestodes are parasitic; many have complex life histories, including a stage in a definitive (main) host in which the adults grow and reproduce, often for years, and one or two intermediate stages in which the larvae develop in other hosts.

What is the definition of a cestode flatworm?

[ sĕs′tōd′ ] Any of various parasitic flatworms of the class Cestoda, having a long flat body that usually has a specialized organ of attachment at one end (the scolex). Cestodes may consist of a single segment or be divided into numerous identical rectangular segments.

How are Cestoda parasites related to other vertebrates?

Cestodes are parasites of vertebrates, with each species infecting a single definitive host or group of closely related host species.