Opisthorchis Explained

Opisthorchis is a genus of flukes in the family Opisthorchiidae.

Species

Species in the genus Opisthorchis include:

The species known as Clonorchis sinensis has sometimes been reclassified into the genus Opisthorchis.[2]

Etymology

From the Greek opisthen (behind) and orchis (testicle), Opisthorchis is a genus of trematode flatworms whose testes are located in the posterior end of the body. Sebastiano Rivolta is generally credited with discovering the first opisthorchid, which he named Distoma felineus, in a cat in Italy in 1884. However, the fluke may have been mentioned by Karl Rudolphi in 1819, and in 1831, Gurlt published a textbook that included a drawing of a fluke that was almost certainly Opisthorchis. By the end of the 19th century, Distoma contained so many species that Raphaël Blanchard introduced the genus Opisthorchis for elongated flat flukes with testes in the posterior end of the body. He chose Rivolta's Opisthorchis felineus as the type species.[3]

See also

References

Includes public domain text from the CDC as cited

Notes and References

  1. Bourgat. R.. Kulo. S.-D.. Recherches expérimentales sur le cycle biologique dOpisthorchis chabaudi n. sp. Description de l'adulte. Annales de Parasitologie Humaine et Comparée. 52. 6. 1977. 615–622. 10.1051/parasite/1977526615. free.
  2. Book: Atlas of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology. Peters. Wallace. Mosby. 2006. 978-0323043649. 187. Pasvol. Geoffrey.
  3. January 2014. SelfEtymologia: Opisthorchis . Emerg Infect Dis . CDC . 20. 1 . 83–88 . 10.3201/eid2001.ET2001. 23 December 2013. 3884738.