microfilaria

microfilaria
Term for embryos of filarial nematodes in the family Onchocercidae. In the past this term has been used as a generic designation ( e.g., M. bancrofti, M. malaya). See Filaria.

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mi·cro·fi·lar·ia .mī-krō-fə-'lar-ē-ə, -'ler- n, pl -i·ae -ē-.ē a minute larval filaria
mi·cro·fi·lar·i·al -ē-əl adj

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n. (pl. microfilariae)
the motile embryo of certain nematodes (see filaria). The slender microfilariae, 150-300 µm in length, are commonly found in the circulating blood or lymph of patients suffering an infection with any of the filarial worms, e.g. Wuchereria. They mature into larvae, which are infective, within the body of a bloodsucking insect, such as a mosquito.

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mi·cro·fi·la·ria (mi″kro-fĭ-larґe-ə) pl. microfilaґriae. the prelarval stage of Filarioidea in the blood of humans and in the tissues of the vector. This term is sometimes incorrectly used as a genus and is then spelled with a capital M.

Microfilariae of (A), Loa loa; (B), Wuchereria bancrofti; (C), Mansonella perstans. A and B have sheaths covering the body and tapered tails; A and C have nuclei extending to their tail tips.


Medical dictionary. 2011.

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Microfilaria — may also refer to an informal collective group genus name, proposed by Cobbold in 1882. While a convenient category for newly discovered microfilariae which can not be assigned to a known species because the adults are unknown,[1] it is seldom… …   Wikipedia

  • microfilaria — Forma prelarvaria de cualquier filaria. Diccionario Mosby Medicina, Enfermería y Ciencias de la Salud, Ediciones Hancourt, S.A. 1999 …   Diccionario médico

  • Microfilaria — vgl. Mikrofilarie …   Das Wörterbuch medizinischer Fachausdrücke

  • microfilaria bancrofti — the microfilaria of Wuchereria bancrofti …   Medical dictionary

  • microfilaria diurna — the microfilaria of Loa loa …   Medical dictionary

  • microfilaria loa — the microfilaria of Loa loa …   Medical dictionary

  • microfilaria streptocerca — the microfilaria of Mansonella streptocerca, found in the subcutaneous tissues …   Medical dictionary

  • microfilaria — noun Etymology: New Latin Date: 1878 a minute larval filaria • microfilarial adjective …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • microfilaria — n. [Gr. mikros, small; L. filum, thread] (NEMATA) The uncoiled mobile embryo of a filaria, that either escapes from the egg shell (unsheathed) or causes stretching of the shell into an elongated sac accommodated to the uncoiled embryo (sheathed) …   Dictionary of invertebrate zoology

  • microfilaria — /muy kroh fi lair ee euh/, n., pl. microfilariae / lair ee ee /. the embryonic larva of the nematode parasite Filaria or of related genera, esp. of those species that cause heartworm in dogs and elephantiasis in humans. [1875 80; < NL; see MICRO …   Universalium

  • microfilaria — noun The very small larva of a filarial worm …   Wiktionary

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