schistosome Zool.
(ˈskɪstəʊsəʊm)
[ad. mod.L. Schistosoma (D. F. Weinland Tapeworms in Man (1858) 87), f. Gr. σχιστό-ς divided + σῶµα body; cf. -some4.]
Any member of the trematode genus Schistosoma (formerly Bilharzia), of which the cercariæ are parasitic on fresh-water snails and the adults of certain species are parasitic in man, inhabiting the blood vessels; a blood fluke.
| 1905 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 7 Jan. 11 (caption) Two male schistosomes. Ibid. 12/1 A distinctive feature of this schistosome is the absence of ciliated warts on the integument. Ibid. 12/2 The habitat of the new schistosome is mainly arterial. 1931 Blacklock & Southwell Guide to Human Parasitol. xvii. 144 Unlike all other digenetic trematodes, no rediae are produced at any time of the life history of the schistosomes, the asexual multiplication taking place in the sporocyst stage. 1955 Nature 19 Nov. 981/2 An important snail host in one country may be refractory or only slightly susceptible to the same species of schistosome from another region. 1968 Sci. Jrnl. Oct. 7/1 An infected human excretes anything from a few to a million schistosome eggs a day. 1970 G. R. Taylor Doomsday Bk. 92 The high schistosome infection rate in Lower Egypt. |
Hence schistoˈsomal a.; also schistoˈsomicide Pharm. [-cide], a substance which kills schistosomes; ˌschistosomiˈcidal a.
| 1931 Blacklock & Southwell Guide to Human Parasitol. iii. 13 Protozoal, e.g. amoebic, and helminthic, e.g. schistosomal, dysenteries, are not the only forms which may occur in the tropics. 1954 Trans. R. Soc. Tropical Med. & Hygiene XLVIII. 446 (heading) A new series of schistosomicides. Ibid., No other known schistosomicide shows a corresponding degree of activity. Ibid., During the last seven years a search for drugs with schistosomicidal activity has been carried out in these laboratories. 1965 Ann. Trop. Med. & Parasitol. LIX. 304 (heading) Bacteriological and immunological findings in the presence of schistosomal infection. 1978 Nature 22 June 628/1 Despite the efforts ever since in the search for more effective schistosomicides, few drugs can be considered as antischistosomal agents of proven value. Ibid. 628/2 Although further studies are needed, oxamniquine seems to be an effective schistosomicidal oral drug suitable for use in endemic areas. |