WormMine: LifeStage WBls:0000708

• Definition: An infectious life-cycle stage, which can infect by direct skin penetration (e.g. Schistosoma sp.) or ingestion (e.g. Fasciola sp.). Cercariae develop in and emerge from the intermediate invertebrate (snail) host. In Schistosoma sp., the cercarium attaches to the skin of the definitive host and secretes proteolytic enzymes helping it to enter into cutaneous capillary vessel; upon the penetration the cercarium sheds its tail and transforms into a schistosomulum. In Fasciola sp., cercariae encyst on vegetation as dormant metacercariae until ingestion by the definitive host.
• Primary Identifier: WBls:0000708
• Public Name: cercarium

0 Anatomy Terms

1 Contained In

Remark	Definition	Other Name	Public Name	Primary Identifier
Digeneans include the Schistosomatidae (blood flukes).	A developmental stage of a Digenean (fluke).		Digenean life stage	WBls:0000711

0 Expression Clusters

0 Expression Patterns

1 Followed By

Remark	Definition	Other Name	Public Name	Primary Identifier
	A tailless cercarium of Schistosoma sp, which resides in the definitive host. After penetration and spending a few days in the skin, schistosomula migrate to the lungs and enter the systemic circulation and are carried to the mesenteric vein of the host where they mature into adult schistosomes.		schistosomulum	WBls:0000709

0 Preceded By

0 Sub Stages