Category:Nematodes

Introduction

Soybean Cyst Nematode and Egg, Scanning Electron Micrograph - Wikimedia Commons

Mononchidae eating a Mononchidae - Wikimedia Commons

Nematodes are one of the most prolific life-forms on this planet. Most are free-living, with species adapted to every imaginable habitat. Some are parasitic on plants, and others on animals. The animal parasitic nematodes form a large and diverse array of organisms. Occlusion of pancreatic ducts sometimes happens.

Nematode Structure and Function

General Life-Cycle

The basic life-cycle is very simple:
- egg → L1 → L2 → L3 → L4 → adult
With a moult in between each larval stage
But there are many variations on this theme

Nematode Eggs

These vary greatly in appearance and are very useful for diagnosis as they can often be detected and counted in faecal samples
NOTE: we use the typical strongyle egg to provide us with a yard-stick for comparing sizes. A "large egg", for example, means larger than a strongyle egg. A typical strongyle egg is approximately 80µm long

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From the veterinary view-point, the nematodes are most conveniently grouped into superfamilies because their members often have similar life-cycles and epidemiological features. Superfamily names end in -oidea (the anglicised form is -oid, as in trichostrongyloid).