tapeworm /tāp′wurm/ [AS, taeppe + wyrm] , a parasitic intestinal worm belonging to the class Cestoda and having a scolex and a ribbon-shaped body composed of segments in a chain. Tapeworms live as larvae in one or more vertebrate intermediate hosts and grow to adulthood in the intestine of humans. In the human alimentary canal the worm develops into an adult with an attaching head, or scolex, and numerous hermaphroditic segments, or proglottids, each of which is capable of producing eggs. Also called cestode. Kinds include Diphyllobothrium latum, Taenia saginata, Taenia solium.
