scolex
Americannoun
plural
scoleces, scolicesnoun
Etymology
Origin of scolex
First recorded in 1850–55, scolex is from the Greek word skṓlēx worm
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A worm latches on to the inside of the intestine with its scolex, which is not a mouth but a gripping tool, and absorbs nutrients through the segments of its body.
From Washington Post • Mar. 19, 2016
Tapeworms attach themselves to the intestine via a hook-like structure called the scolex.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
Humans who consume raw or undercooked infected meat become infected when the tapeworm attaches itself to the intestinal wall via suckers or hooks on the scolex, or head.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
Proglottids are produced at the scolex and are pushed to the end of the tapeworm as new proglottids form, at which point, they are “mature” and all structures except fertilized eggs have degenerated.
From Textbooks • Apr. 25, 2013
When meat, improperly cooked and containing "measles," is eaten, the cyst is dissolved in the human stomach and the free scolex or head attaches itself to the intestinal mucous membrane and grows into a tapeworm.
From Mother's Remedies Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remedies from Mothers of the United States and Canada by Ritter, Thomas Jefferson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
