schistosome

[shis-tuh-sohm]

noun

1. Also called bilharzia. any elongated trematode of the genus Schistosoma, parasitic in the blood vessels of humans and other mammals; a blood fluke.

adjective

1. Also schistosomal. pertaining to or caused by schistosomes.

schistosome

/ ˈʃɪstəˌsəʊm /

noun

1. Also called: bilharzia. any of various blood flukes of the chiefly tropical genus Schistosoma, which cause disease in man and domestic animals

schistosome

1. Any of several chiefly tropical trematodes of the genus Schistosoma, many of which are parasitic in the blood of birds and mammals, including three species that cause infection in humans, as in schistosomiasis.

Word History and Origins

Origin of schistosome¹

1900–05; < New Latin Schistosoma, equivalent to schist ( us ) ( schist ) + -o- -o- + -soma (neuter plural) -some ³

Word History and Origins

Origin of schistosome¹

C19: from New Latin Schistosoma; see _schist , _-some ³

Example Sentences

An intermediate host was waiting: The river is home to the snail Bulinus truncatus—one of a few Bulinus species that can support schistosomes—which also occurs in some African and Middle Eastern countries.

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People also got itchy rashes thanks to parasites called avian schistosomes, which usually infect birds and a specific species of snail.

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“That is a long time to have something as ugly as a schistosome living in your blood vessels, putting out excrement and things.”

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Meanwhile, researchers are not only looking for creams that can help protect skin from the schistosomes but are also measuring how many of them are in the water at any given time.

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Unfortunately, the parasite is showing resistance to one of the available therapeutic drugs, oxamniquine, which means that schistosome control relies on a single drug, praziquantel.

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