The larval form of certain Taenia species, typically found in muscles of mammalian intermediate hosts that serve as a prey of various predators; it consists of a fluid-filled bladder in which the invaginated cestode scolex develops. SEE ALSO: Taenia saginata, Taenia solium. [G. kystis, bladder, + kerkos, tail]
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cys·ti·cer·cus -'sər-kəs n, pl -cer·ci -'sər-.sī, -.kī a tapeworm larva that consists of a fluid-filled sac containing an invaginated scolex, is situated in the tissues of an intermediate host, and is capable of developing into an adult tapeworm when eaten by a suitable definitive host called also bladder worm, measle
cys·ti·cer·cal -'sər-kəl adj
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n.
a larval stage of some tapeworm in which the scolex and neck are invaginated into a large fluid-filled cyst. The cysts develop in the muscles or brain of the host following ingestion of tapeworm eggs. See cysticercosis.
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Cys·ti·cer·cus (sis″tĭ-surґkəs) [Gr. kystis bladder + kerkos tail] a former genus of larval forms of tapeworms of the genus Taenia.Medical dictionary. 2011.