platyhelminth Zool.
(plætɪˈhɛlmɪnθ)
Also plathelminth.
[f. mod.L. pl. Platyhelmintha, -thes, f. platy- + Gr. ἕλµινς (ἑλµινθ-) worm: see helminth.]
An animal of the group Platyhelˈmintha or Platyhelˈminthes, comprising the nemertean, trematode, cestode, and turbellarian worms (with other classes in some classifications); a flat-worm.
| [1878 Bell Gegenbaur's Comp. Anat. 129 In most Platyhelminthes the mouth is some distance from the head.] 1890 Cent. Dict., Plathelminth. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 1091 Bilharzia..hæmatobia is a trematode platyhelminth, inhabiting the veins of man, monkeys, and probably also of cattle and dogs. 1901 Daily Chron. 30 Oct. 3/4 The Platyhelminthes include ‘liver flukes’ and ‘tape-worms’, besides [other] non-parasitic creatures devoid of a vernacular name. |