File:Heterophyes LifeCycle.gif

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Summary[edit]

Summary
Description	Adults release embryonated eggs each with a fully-developed miracidium, and eggs are passed in the host's feces . After ingestion by a suitable snail (first intermediate host), the eggs hatch and release miracidia which penetrate the snail’s intestine . Genera Cerithidia and Pironella are important snail hosts in Asia and the Middle East respectively. The miracidia undergo several developmental stages in the snail, i.e. sporocysts , rediae , and cercariae . Many cercariae are produced from each redia. The cercariae are released from the snail and encyst as metacercariae in the tissues of a suitable fresh/brackish water fish (second intermediate host) . The definitive host becomes infected by ingesting undercooked or salted fish containing metacercariae . After ingestion, the metacercariae excyst, attach to the mucosa of the small intestine and mature into adults (measuring 1.0 to 1.7 mm by 0.3 to 0.4 mm) . In addition to humans, various fish-eating mammals (e.g., cats and dogs) and birds can be infected by Heterophyes heterophyes
Source	Wikimedia Commons file page
Author	United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Permission	See original Commons license details.

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	Date/Time	Thumbnail	Dimensions	User	Comment
current	03:22, 5 June 2026		617 × 435 (34 KB)	Maintenance script (talk \| contribs)	== Summary == Importing file

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