Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Case of the Week 817

This week's case was generously donated by Dr. Ben Von Bredow. The following object was sent to the laboratory for identification after being passed by a patient from Michigan. No additional information is available. What is your identification?





4 comments:

Anonymous said...

T solium?

Anonymous said...

Wow, that’s pretty rare to have the filamentous anterior portion where the name diphyllobothrid derives from. The posterior portion is composed entirely of craspedote proglottids with a central line of genital organs. The patient must have some unsanitary raw fish. Either the Sashimi or Sushi dish was the source of the infection. A historic wood print in a medical school in Japan shows the extraction of Dibothriocephalus latus. The print has been published in an issue of EID many years ago and grossed out the majority of my coworkers, to me it is a historic medical evidence.
Florida Fan

Anonymous said...

Dibothriocephalus latus (formerly Diphyllobothrium latum commonly called zipper worm because of the black uterine pore in the centre like a zipper. Also called broad fish tapeworm.

Menzler said...

This appears to be Dibothriocephalus latus fish tapeworm (Cestode) with the broad proglottids with the “shoulders” side profile. This is associated with the ingestion of undercooked or raw infected freshwater fish.