RT Book, Section A1 Ryan, Kenneth J. SR Print(0) ID 1148678648 T1 Trematodes T2 Sherris Medical Microbiology, 7e YR 2017 FD 2017 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 9781259859809 LK accessbiomedicalscience.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1148678648 RD 2024/03/29 AB Of the many relationships that have developed between humans and helminths over the millennia of our mutual existence, perhaps the most destructive to our health and productivity is that forged by the trematodes, or “flukes.” Typically, the adults live for decades within human tissues and vasculature, where they resist immunologic attack and produce progressive damage to vital organs. Morphologically, trematodes are bilaterally symmetric, vary in length from a few millimeters to several centimeters, and possess two deep suckers from which they derive their name (“body with holes”). One surrounds the oral cavity, and the other is located on the ventral surface of the worm. These organs are used for both attachment and locomotion; movement is accomplished in a characteristic inchworm fashion.