scolex

American  

[skoh-leks] / ˈskoʊ lɛks /

noun

Zoology.

• scoleces,
  plural
• scolices
  plural

1. the anterior, headlike segment of a tapeworm, having suckers, hooks, or the like, for attachment.

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scolex British  

/ ˈskəʊlɛks /

noun

1. the headlike part of a tapeworm, bearing hooks and suckers by which the animal is attached to the tissues of its host

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• scoleces
  plural
• scolices
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of scolex

First recorded in 1850–55, scolex is from the Greek word skṓlēx worm

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

scolex

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 Thomas Jefferson Ritter

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