Schistosome egg. Light micrograph of an egg of the fluke Schistosoma haematobium, the cause of the disease schistosomiasis (bilharzia). Eggs expelled

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Schistosome egg. Light micrograph of an egg of the fluke Schistosoma haematobium, the cause of the disease schistosomiasis (bilharzia). Eggs expelled from infected humans enter lakes and rivers, hatch into larvae and infect aquatic snails. Here they develop into cercariae, which infect humans who enter the water. The mature adult form lives in the veins around the bladder, where the females lay eggs. The large spine (lower right) on each egg secures it in the wall of the bladder, from where it leaves the body in the urine. Untreated schistosomiasis causes kidney and liver damage. Differential interference contrast. Magnification unknown.

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Size: 4540px × 3105px
Photo credit: © SINCLAIR STAMMERS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, bilharzia, contrast, development, differential, disease, egg, flatworm, fluke, haematobium, interference, invertebrate, invertebrates, light, micrograph, nature, parasite, parasitic, pathogen, pathogenic, platyhelminthes, schistosoma, schistosomiasis, spine, wildlife, zoology