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Common liver fluke facts for kids

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Fasciola hepatica
Fasciola hepatica.JPG
Fasciola hepatica – adult worm
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Platyhelminthes
Class:
Trematoda
Subclass:
Digenea
Family:
Fasciolidae
Genus:
Fasciola
Binomial name
Fasciola hepatica
Linnaeus, 1758

Fasciola hepatica (also known as the common liver fluke) is a parasitic trematode (fluke or flatworm) in the phylum Platyhelminthes.

It infects the livers of various mammals, including humans. The disease caused by the fluke is called fascioliasis. It has been classified as a neglected tropical disease.

F. hepatica is distributed worldwide, and has been known as an important parasite of sheep and cattle for hundreds of years. It causes great economic losses in sheep and cattle. Because of its size and economic importance, it has been the subject of many scientific investigations and may be the best-known of any trematode species.

Life cycle

Fasciola hepatica Life Cycle
Life cycle of Fasciola hepatica inside and outside of a human or animal body

Images for kids

  • Galba truncatula shell

    Galba truncatula, an amphibious freshwater lymnaeid snail that serves as the main intermediate host of Fasciola hepatica in Europe

  • Fasciola LifeCycle 2013

    The lifecycle of Fasciola hepatica

  • Syncytial epithelia

    A simple diagram to show the difference between the teguments of free-living and parasitic flatworms: a. shows the syncytial epithelial tegument found in parasitic flatworms, such as F. hepatica. b. shows the multicellular, nonsyncytial, epithelia, found in nonparasitic, free-living flatworms.

  • Image from page 174 of "Introduction to zoology; a guide to the study of animals, for the use of secondary schools;" (1900) (14598306110)

    Image showing the location of the mouth, labelled mo, and the anterior sucker, as labelled sckr

  • Animal biology (1938) (17576890133)

    Diagram of the main organ systems of F. hepatica throughout the progressive life stages of the fluke (1938). A - egg; B - miracidium; C - sporocyst; D - rediae, E - immature cercaria, F - cercaria, G - encysted stage, H - adult fluke (nervous and reproductive systems omitted)

  • Fasciola hepatica prevalence

    Fasciola hepatica prevalence. The countries in red are those with high prevalence, those in orange have low-medium prevalence.

  • PSM V23 D765 Free cercaria in water and cysts attached to the grass

    The left image shows the free-swimming cercariae, the swimming "tail" is clearly visible. The right side of the diagram shows the cysts attached to grass.

  • Fasciola hepatica2

    Slide showing Fasciola hepatica's internal organs

  • Egg of Fasciola hepatica 08G0041 lores

    F. hepatica egg in stool sample.

See also

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Common liver fluke Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.