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guinea worm

 
Dictionary: guinea worm
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n.
A long threadlike nematode worm (Dracunculus medinensis) of tropical Asia and Africa that is a subcutaneous parasite of humans and other mammals and causes ulcerative lesions on the legs and feet.

[After the GUINEA coast of Africa.]


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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: guinea worm
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Nematode (Dracunculus medinensis) that is a common parasite of humans and other mammals in tropical Asia and Africa and has been introduced into the West Indies and tropical South America. The female grows to 20 – 48 in. (50 – 120 cm) long; the male, which dies upon mating, is only about 0.5 – 1.1 in. (12 – 29 mm) long. Both sexes live in the connective tissue of the host animal. Humans become infected when they drink water containing tiny crustaceans (e.g., copepods) that have eaten guinea-worm larvae. The disease the guinea worm carries, called dracunculiasis, can be extremely debilitating and painful.

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Medical Dictionary: guinea worm
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n.

A long, threadlike nematode of tropical Asia and Africa that is a subcutaneous parasite of humans and other mammals and causes ulcerative lesions on the legs and feet.

WordNet: Guinea worm
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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: parasitic roundworm of India and Africa that lives beneath the skin of man and other vertebrates
  Synonym: Dracunculus medinensis

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Medical Dictionary. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company.  Read more
WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.  Read more