Light micrograph of a section of beef tongue containing the encysted larvae of the beef tapeworm, Taenia saginata. The lower two thirds of the image (

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Light micrograph of a section of beef tongue containing the encysted larvae of the beef tapeworm, Taenia saginata. The lower two thirds of the image (below the blue band of muscle) shows part of a hyatid cyst containing many scolices (dark reddish-brown ovals), the heads of the future tapeworms. Humans may become infected with T. saginata through eating raw or undercooked beef infected with encysted larvae such as these. The larvae develop in the human intestine, reaching an adult length of 4 to 10 metres. The presence of the worm may give rise to increased appetite, hunger pains, weight loss & general weakness. Magnification: x100 at 35mm size.

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Size: 5220px × 3427px
Photo credit: © POWER AND SYRED/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, beef, flatworm, invertebrate, invertebrates, nature, platyhelminthes, saginata, taenia, taeniasis, tapeworm, wildlife, zoology