1. Plural of cercaria; free-swimming larval stages of parasitic flatworms (trematodes) that emerge from infected freshwater snails and can infect humans or animals.
Usage: biology; parasitology; technical

Examples

• Cercarians of Schistosoma species are released from snails into freshwater environments.
• The cercarians penetrate the skin of swimmers, causing schistosomiasis.
• Researchers studied how cercarians navigate toward their hosts in laboratory conditions.
• Infected snails release thousands of cercarians into the water each day.
• Cercarians are microscopic and invisible to the naked eye.