GC: n

S: NCBI – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8282/ (last access: 28 July 2015); MEDNET – http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=12321 (last access: 28 July 2015).

N: 1. “intestinal worm,” 1852, from helmintho-, stem of Greek helmins “parasitic worm,” from suffixed form of PIE root wel- “to turn”.
2. The word ‘helminth’ is a general term meaning ‘worm’, but there are many different types of worms. Prefixes are therefore used to designate types: platy-helminths for flat-worms and nemat-helminths for round-worms. All helminths are multicellular eukaryotic invertebrates with tube-like or flattened bodies exhibiting bilateral symmetry. They are triploblastic (with endo-, meso- and ecto-dermal tissues) but the flatworms are acoelomate (do not have body cavities) while the roundworms are pseudocoelomate (with body cavities not enclosed by mesoderm). In contrast, segmented annelids (such as earthworms) are coelomate (with body cavities enclosed by mesoderm).

S: 1. OED – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Helminth (last access: 28 July 2015). 2. http://parasite.org.au/para-site/contents/helminth-intoduction.html (last access: 28 July 2015).

SYN:
S:

CR: helminthiasis, infestation, levamisole, parasite, parasitosis.