nematode

nem·a·tode  (nm-td, nm-)

n.

Any of several worms of the phylum Nematoda, having unsegmented, cylindrical bodies, often narrowing at each end, and including parasitic forms such as the hookworm and pinworm. Also called roundworm.

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[From New Latin Nmatda, phylum name : nemato- + New Latin -da (alteration of -odea, from neuter pl. of Greek -oeids, -oid).]

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nema·tode adj.

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nematode [ˈnɛməˌtəʊd]

n

(Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Animals) any unsegmented worm of the phylum (or class) Nematoda, having a tough outer cuticle. The group includes free-living forms and disease-causing parasites, such as the hookworm and filaria Also called nematode worm roundworm

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nematode  (nm-td)

Any of several slender, cylindrical worms of the group Nematoda, which some scientists consider to be a class of the aschelminths and others to be a separate phylum. Most nematodes are tiny and live in enormous numbers in water, soil, plants, and animals. They have a simple structure, with a long hollow gut separated from the body wall by a fluid-filled space. Several nematodes, such as pinworm, roundworm, filaria, and hookworm, are parasites on animals and humans and cause disease. One species, Caenorhabditis elegans (usually called C. elegans), was one of the first animals to have its entire genome sequenced and is important in biological research as a model organism.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

nematode - unsegmented worms with elongated rounded body pointed at both ends; mostly free-living but some are parasitic nematode worm, roundworm worm - any of numerous relatively small elongated soft-bodied animals especially of the phyla Annelida and Chaetognatha and Nematoda and Nemertea and Platyhelminthes; also many insect larvae Aschelminthes, Nematoda, phylum Aschelminthes, phylum Nematoda - unsegmented worms: roundworms; threadworms; eelworms Ascaris lumbricoides, common roundworm - intestinal parasite of humans and pigs Ascaridia galli, chicken roundworm - intestinal parasite of domestic fowl Enterobius vermicularis, pinworm, threadworm - small threadlike worm infesting human intestines and rectum especially in children eelworm - any of various small free-living plant-parasitic roundworms Tylenchus tritici, wheat eel, wheat eelworm, wheatworm - small roundworm parasitic on wheat trichina, Trichinella spiralis - parasitic nematode occurring in the intestines of pigs and rats and human beings and producing larvae that form cysts in skeletal muscles hookworm - parasitic bloodsucking roundworms having hooked mouth parts to fasten to the intestinal wall of human and other hosts filaria - slender threadlike roundworms living in the blood and tissues of vertebrates; transmitted as larvae by biting insects Dracunculus medinensis, Guinea worm - parasitic roundworm of India and Africa that lives in the abdomen or beneath the skin of humans and other vertebrates