Pork Tapeworm Anatomy and Life Cycle

Taenia solium : pork tapeworm
Location:
 the adult lives in the small intestine
of humans
 clings to the gut wall by:
 hooks
 suckers

New segments:
are produced at the neck

Older segments:
are pushed to the back
and grow larger
A person can have
only one tapeworm
living inside the
intestines.

Body form:
 flat
 about 1000 segments or proglottids
The largest proglottids are about:
 2 cm long
 1.5 cm wide

Proglottid:
may contain up to
50000 eggs

Fig 2. Internal structure of proglottids.

The tapeworm is
hermaphrodite.

The tapeworm is an endoparasite:
• lives and gets its nutrients from inside its
host, causing it harm
Harm caused to host:
gut blockage
abdominal pain
body weight loss

Benefit gained by parasite:
 food supply
 shelter
 steady environment

The tapeworm has two hosts:
Human:
primary host
(parasite is in its
ADULT form)

Pig: intermediate or
secondary host
(parasite is not in adult
form – bladderworm in pig
muscle)

Fig. 3 The life cycle of Taenia solium

9 Adaptations to a parasitic mode of life
1. Hooks and suckers allow it to hold on tightly
to the wall of the intestine.
2. Its flat body gives it a large surface area to
absorb food.
3. It has no need of a mouth or gut as it
absorbs already digested food.

4. It produces chemicals
which neutralise the
digestive juices of the
host.
5. It produces large
numbers of eggs to
increase chances of
survival.
Adult tapeworm

6. It has a vector to carry it from one human to
another.

7. It respires anaerobically as there is lack of
oxygen within the intestines.
8. The tapeworm has both male and female sex
organs (is hermaphrodite) and can fertilise itself.
This is because only one tapeworm can be
present within the intestines,
9. It lacks sensory organs such as eyes as it does
not need them.

How to get rid of tapeworms
1. Health officers inspect
meat before it is sold.

2. Proper sewage disposal
is important to prevent
tapeworms from
spreading.

3. Cooking meat thoroughly destroys the
tapeworm bladders.

4. An infected person can
take medicine to cause
the tapeworm to let
go of the intestine
wall. The tapeworm is
then flushed out with
the faeces.

Question: MAY 2004
1a) Distinguish between the terms parasite and
saprophyte. (4)
Parasite gets its nutrients from a living
host, causing it harm but not necessarily killing
it.
Saprophyte gets its nutrients by breaking down
dead and decaying material.

Question: MAY 2004
b) Give one named example of a parasite and
one named example of a saprophyte. (2)
Parasite: tapeworm
Saprophyte: bacteria / fungus

Question: MAY 2004
c) Explain how the parasite you mention in (b)
is adapted to its mode of life. (6)

Question: No. 2
a) Why would a parasite be at an advantage if
it could produce large numbers of eggs? (2)
More chance that some survive and infect a
host so that the parasite can continue its life
cycle.

Question: No. 2
b) Explain fully the meaning of the term
‘endoparasite’. (3)
An endoparasite lives inside its host to get
its nutrients. The host is harmed.

Question: MAY 2010
3) Explain ONE benefit of each of the following
features in the parasitic mode of life of a
parasite living in the gut of its host: (3)
i) body surface covered with microvilli:
Large surface area to absorb nutrients.
ii) long and thin body:
Long body increases the surface area to
absorb nutrients and a thin body makes
diffusion pathway short.

Question: MAY 2010
iii) body wall has active transport systems:
To allow upatke of ions, glucose and amino
acids against a concentration gradient.

THE END

Tapeworm cysts in a human brain

Pork Tapeworm Anatomy and Life Cycle

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