This allows for parasitic worms to attach to their host by penetrating the host’s tissue with spines lining the acetabulum organ. In trematodes, the oral sucker is linked to the pharynx via a canal composed of meridional, equatorial, and radial muscle fibers. Together, the mouth, pharynx, and esophagus form the foregut in Trematodes.Male reproductive system: The male reproductive system generally includes two testes, while some species may have more. Along with this, the size and position of the testes in the body may vary depending on the species. Due to this species-level variation, the male reproductive system can be very useful in species identification. Sperm production, or spermatogenesis, occurs in the testes. Spermatogenesis in Trematodes produces biflagellate sperm or sperm with two tails. This phenomenon occurs across very few invertebrate and vertebrate species. Sperm is stored in the seminal vesicle, this organ is connected to the testes by the vas deferens.Female reproductive system: The female reproductive system consists of one ovary in Trematodes. The location of the ovary varies between species, making the female reproductive system useful in species identification. The oocytes are released from the ovary via the oocapt, from here, the stored sperm in the seminal vesicles will meet with the oocyte. In the Mehlis’ gland, the oocyte and sperm will be joined and start developing. As the embryo is forming, the vitelline ducts will begin to release materials that will be used to create the eggshell around the embryo. Finally, the Laurers’ canal will lead outside of the body.
In many cases, eggs from the trematodes can often be found in stool months after infection.Depending on the type of infection, the drugs Ppraziquantel and Ttriclabendazole are used to eradicate the trematodes in humans. Animal infections
Humans are not the only creatures that can be infected with trematodes. They can infect dogs, cats, reptiles, and many more vertebrates. One of the most common victims of trematodes are ruminants. Similarly to humans, cattle and sheep can get infected by trematodes by eating contaminated food. When a ruminant is infected by a trematode, the infection leads to less milk or meat production, which has become an issue in cattle and other livestock industries. Etymology
Trematodes are commonly referred to as flukes. This term can be traced back to the Old English name for flounder, and refers to the flattened, rhomboidal shape of the worms. The flukes can be classified into two groups based on, on the basis of the system in which they infect their in the vertebrate host. They may also be classified according to the environment in which they are found. For instance, pond flukes infect fish in ponds. Tissue flukes infect the bile ducts, lungs, or other biological tissues. This group includes the lung fluke, Paragonimus westermani, and the liver flukes, Clonorchis sinensis and Fasciola hepatica. Blood flukes inhabit the blood in some stages of their life cycle. Blood flukes include species of the genus Schistosoma. References
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