Parasitic roundworm, light micrograph

Rights Managed

SS2346550

SL2488

Parasitic roundworm. Light micrograph of a section through a female Ascaris lumbricoides parasitic roundworm. The outermost layer of the worm (pink) is the cuticle. Beneath the cuticle is a layer of muscle (purple), used for locomotion. The worm's gut is the curved area (purple) at center. The pink spheres are ovaries and the large blue spheres are the worm's two wombs (uteri). A. lumbricoides is a parasite of the human intestine. Females can lay up to 200,000 eggs per day, which are excreted in the feces and ingested by a new host through contaminated water or food. Infection causes abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea and peritonitis. Magnification: x13 when printed at 10 centimeters wide.

Steve Gschmeissner / Science Source