Paragonimus Westermani - Morphology

Morphology

Size, shape, and color resemble a coffee bean when alive. Adult worms are 7.5 mm to 12 mm long and 4 mm to 6 mm wide. The thickness ranges from 3.5 mm to 5 mm. The skin of the worm (tegument) is heavily covered with scalelike spines. The oral and ventral suckers are similar in size, with the latter placed slightly pre-equatorially. The excretory bladder extends from the posterior end to the pharynx. The lobed testes are adjacent from each other located at the posterior end, and the lobed ovaries are off-centered near the center of the worm (slightly postacetabular). The uterus is located in a tight coil to the right of the acetabulum, which is connected, to the vas deferens. The vitelline glands, which produce the yolk for the eggs, are widespread in the lateral field from the pharynx to the posterior end. By viewing the tegumental spines and shape of the metacercariae, one could distinguish between the ~30 species of Paragonimus spp.

• Eggs: Paragonimus westermani eggs range from 80 to 120 µm long by 45 to 70 µm wide. They are yellow-brown, ovoid or elongate, with a thick shell, and often asymmetrical with one end slightly flattened. At the large end, the operculum is clearly visible. The opposite (abopercular) end is thickened. The eggs are unembryonated when passed in sputum or feces.
• Cercaria (not shown): Cercariae are often indistinguishable between species. There is a large posterior sucker, and the exterior is spined.
• Metacercaria: Metacercariae are usually encysted in tissue. The exterior is spined and has two suckers
• Adults: Adult flukes are typically reddish brown and ovoid, measuring 7 to 16 mm by 4 to 8 mm, similar in size and appearance to a coffee bean.They are hermaphroditic, with a lobed ovary located anterior to two branching testes. Like all members of the Trematoda, they possess oral and ventral suckers.