‖ scolex
(ˈskəʊlɛks)
Pl. scoleces (skəʊˈliːsiːz), also erron. scolices (ˈskəʊlɪsiːz).
[mod.L., a. Gr. σκώληξ (pl. σκώληκες) worm.]
The larva or embryo produced directly from the egg in metagenesis; esp. the larva or head of a tapeworm or other parasitic worm.
| 1855 T. R. Jones Anim. Kingd. (ed. 2) 135 The Scolex, therefore, in this stage of development is synonymous with ‘the head’, or, as it might as well be called, the ‘root’ of the worm. 1864 Cobbold Entozoa 265 These thickened portions, in their turn, become true scolices, or, in some cases, scolicecoid formations. 1888 Rolleston & Jackson Anim. Life 233 Van Beneden's discovery of proscolices with scolices in all stages of growth in the intestine of the Lump-fish. |
| attrib. 1857 tr. von Siebold's Tape & Cystic Worms (Syd. Soc.) 87 This worm [bothriocephalus latus] is never met with amongst our cattle in a scolex condition. 1865 Nat. Hist. Rev. July 349 A small scolex-cyst. |