RT Book, Section
A1 Langston, Shannon M.
A1 Bales, Brian D.
A2 Knoop, Kevin J.
A2 Stack, Lawrence B.
A2 Storrow, Alan B.
A2 Thurman, R. Jason
SR Print(0)
ID 1181051229
T1 Ascariasis
T2 The Atlas of Emergency Medicine, 5e
YR 2021
FD 2021
PB McGraw-Hill
PP New York, NY
SN 9781260134940
LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1181051229
RD 2024/04/19
AB Ascaris  lumbricoides  is  the  most  common  human  intestinal  roundworm  infection.  The  parasites  are  found  worldwide  and  are  highly  endemic  where  sanitation  and  hygiene  are  poor;  they  commonly  cause  infection  in  regions  where  human  feces  are  used  as  fertilizer.  Adult  worms  live  in  the  small  intestine  and  produce  enormous  numbers  of  eggs,  which  are  excreted  in  the  feces.  Passed  eggs  require  at  least  several  weeks  in  warm,  moist  soil  before  embryonating  into  an  infective  egg.  Ingested  eggs  hatch  in  the  jejunum,  migrate  through  the  intestinal  wall  into  the  bloodstream,  and  are  transported  to  the  lungs.  Larval  worms  burrow  through  the  alveolar  walls,  ascend  through  the  trachea,  and  are  swallowed  back  into  the  small  intestine  where  they  develop  into  adults.