| procercoid | The first stage in the aquatic life cycle of certain tapeworms, such as the pseudophyllideans (family Diphyllobothriidae), following ingestion of the newly hatched larva (coracidium) by a copepod (water flea). The procercoid develops into a tailed larva in the body cavity of the crustacean first intermediate host; when the procercoid and its host are ingested by a fish, the procercoid enters the new host's tissues and becomes a plerocercoid. See: Diphyllobothrium latum, Pseudophyllidea. Origin: pro-+ G. Kerkos, tail, + eidos, resemblance (05 Mar 2000) |
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