procercoid

Pronunciation: prō-ser′koyd

Definition: 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.

[pro- + G. kerkos, tail, + eidos, resemblance]

See Also: Diphyllobothrium latum, Pseudophyllidea

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