Dipylidium caninum (continued)
OVA
SIZE: About 35 mcm (medium).
SHAPE: Round to ovoid.
COLOR: Light brown.
OPERCULUM: Absent.
CONTENTS: Hexacanth oncosphere.
Found in packets of 15 to 20 ova which are similar to T. saginatus but without the
striated outer shell.
ADULT
SIZE: Up to 70 cm.
COLOR: Ivory.
SCOLEX
SIZE: 0.25 to 0.5 mm (small).
SHAPE: Club-shaped.
ROSTELLUM: armed with 3 to 7 rows of small hooklets.
PROGLOTTID
SIZE: 3.2 mm wide.
SHAPE: Longer than wide, "pumpkin seed" shape.
GENITAL PORE: Bilateral (two).
UTERUS: Paired with 16 to 20 radial branches each which disappear early;
replaced by egg capsules.
OVARIES: Paired.
TESTES: Minute, spherical.
Figure 3-51. Stages of Dipylidium caninum.
MD0842
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