noun
- The larval stage of certain tapeworms (cestodes) that develops in the intermediate host and is infective to the final host.
Usage: parasitology; zoology
adjective
- Relating to or characteristic of a plerocercoid larva.
Usage: parasitology; zoology
Examples
- The plerocercoid stage occurs when the tapeworm larva develops in the intermediate host.
- Fish infected with plerocercoid larvae can transmit the parasite to humans who consume them raw or undercooked.
- Researchers identified plerocercoid structures under the microscope during their parasitological examination.
- The plerocercoid form is capable of infecting the definitive host when ingested.
- Aquatic copepods serve as intermediate hosts for the plerocercoid development of certain tapeworm species.