tapeworm
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The life cycle of the pork tapeworm Taenia solium. If a person eats pork from an infected pig that has not been properly cooked, the cysticercus attaches to the intestine and develops into an adult tapeworm. The tapeworm is a hermaphrodite and fertilizes itself, releasing proglottis, each of which may contain as many as 40,000 embryos encased in separate capsules. If the embryos are eaten by a pig, they bore from the pig's intestine into the bloodstream which carries them to the muscles, where they may be eaten by a human and the cycle continues.
Any of various parasitic flatworms of the class Cestoda. They lack digestive and sense organs, can reach 15 m/50 ft in length, and attach themselves to the host's intestines by means of hooks and suckers. Tapeworms are made up of hundreds of individual segments, each of which develops into a functional hermaphroditic reproductive unit capable of producing numerous eggs. The larvae of tapeworms usually reach humans in imperfectly cooked meat or fish, causing anaemia and intestinal disorders.
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