The favorite places for the tapeworms to stay are the intestines of humans or any other animals. A tapeworm looks similar to a ribbon. An adult tapeworm possess teeth, hooks or sucker like structures situated near the head which enables them to fix themselves inside the intestinal walls. |
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The entire body of a tapeworm contains flat small portions, each possessing its individual digestive and reproductive systems. Once the food travels inside the host’s intestine, the tapeworms that are fixed on to the walls of the intestine absorb the nutrients contained in the food. These small portions of the tapeworm gradually move towards the tail region. As they grow, new portions are added to the existing one. The new portions or segments are added near the head region. When the older portion of the tapeworm reaches the tail area, its digestive system gets destroyed on its own, leaving behind just the reproductive system. This system is represented by a sac of eggs. One may not believe this, but a typical tapeworm may even grow up to fifty feet long and can survive for two long decades.
A tapeworm gets its size from the number of small portions known as segments. Each segment is very small. The most common tapeworm, Dipylidium caninum, which is commonly seen in dogs and cats, can be of a size of just a grain of a sand. The various types of tapeworm that exist are usually seen in beef (Taenia saginata), pork (Taenia solium) and in fish.
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