definitive host

Noun

Meaning

the host in which the sexual reproduction of a parasite takes place

Hypernyms

Examples

When the definitive host eats infested and raw or undercooked meat from an intermediate host, the worm's scolex pops out and attaches itself to the gut, and the adult tapeworm develops. Source: Internet

The definitive host in which adults develop is a land vertebrate, the earliest host of juvenile stages is usually a snail that may live on land or in water, and in many cases a fish or arthropod is the second host. Source: Internet

For indirect parasites, there will always be a definitive host and an intermediate host. citation citation Human head lice ( Pediculus humanus capitis ) are ectoparasites. Source: Internet

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