Parasitism and the Platyhelminths

The platyhelminth panorama. Symbiosis and the turbellarians. Origins of the major groups of parasites. The biology of the monogenean fish skin parasite Entobdella soleae. Other monogeneans parasitizing the skin of fishes. Monogeneans parasitizing the gill chambers of fishes. Endoparasitic monogeneans. Unravelling the cestode life cycle. The biology of Hymenolepis dimunuta. The fish tapeworms. The cyclophyllideans. Unravelling the digenean life cycle. The biology of Fasciola hepatica. Digenean germinal sacs, germinal lineage and genetic events. Digeneans with two hosts. Digeneans with invertebrates as second intermediate hosts. Digeneans with vertebrates, especially fishes, as second intermediate hosts. The schistosomes. Lesser lights - didymozoideans and aspidogastreans. Conclusions. References. Appendix.