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==Description==
==Description==
''Ancylostoma caninum'' is rarely found in the UK but it is a major pathogen of dogs in many warmer and tropical regions of the world and it may be encountered in dogs that have travelled under the Pet Travel Scheme. ''A. caninum'' may be recognised on examination under a microscope by its large buccal cavity which contain three pairs of teeth along its anterior and ventral edges. Two smaller teeth are also present at the base of the cavity. The life-cycle of ''A. caninum'' is detailed [[Ancylostomatoidea Life-Cycle|elsewhere]] but it should be noted that L3 larvae of this species mainly enter by the transcutaneous route so that intestinal disease and blood loss are mainly seen in younger animals.
''Ancylostoma caninum'' is a hookworm that belongs to the superfamily [[:Category:Ancylostomatoidea|Ancylostomatoidea]]. This superfamily contains exotic hookworms that infect both man and animals. ''A. caninum'' is rarely found in the UK but it is a major pathogen of dogs in many warmer and tropical regions of the world and it may be encountered in dogs that have travelled under the Pet Travel Scheme. The life-cycle of ''A. caninum'' is detailed [[Ancylostomatoidea Life-Cycle|elsewhere]] but it should be noted that L3 larvae of this species mainly enter by the transcutaneous route so that intestinal disease and blood loss are mainly seen in younger animals.
==Identification==
[[File:Hookworm egg 1.jpg|thumb|Image of an egg of ''Ancylostoma caninum''<br><small>Copyright Joel Mills 2006 Wikimedia Commons]]
''A. caninum'' may be recognised on examination under a microscope by its large buccal cavity which contain three pairs of teeth along its anterior and ventral edges. Two smaller teeth are also present at the base of the cavity.
Like almost all hookworm eggs, those of ''A. caninum'' are oval in shape and around 50 um in diameter. The shell membrane is thin and transparent and, by the time the egg is passed in the faeces, it contains a segmented ovum at the 4 or 8 cell stage. In a tropical climate, the egg will hatch within 24 hours and only L1 larvae will then be detectable.
==Pathogenesis==
==Pathogenesis==