scolex

zoology

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Last updated

July 13, 2026

Quick Summary

The scolex is the head of a tapeworm, present in both larval and adult stages. This structure is crucial for attachment to the host and can feature suckers, hooks, or spines. Tapeworms belong to the class Cestoda within the phylum Platyhelminthes. They are parasitic flatworms that lack a digestive tract and absorb nutrients through their body covering. Tapeworms can range in size from a millimeter to over 15 meters and affect a wide variety of vertebrates, including humans.123

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flatworm
Cestoda
…regenerate from the head (scolex) and neck region. This property often makes it difficult to treat people for tapeworm infections; treatment may eliminate only the body, or strobila, leaving the scolex still attached to the intestinal wall of the host and thus capable of producing a new strobila, which…
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…regenerate from the head (scolex) and neck region. This property often makes it difficult to treat people for tapeworm infections; treatment may eliminate only the body, or strobila, leaving the scolex still attached to the intestinal wall of the host and thus capable of producing a new strobila, which…
Read More