Studies onOnchocerca cervicalisRailliet and Henry 1910: 3. Morphological and taxonomic studies onOnchocerca cervicalisfrom British horses

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Abstract
Distinct morphological differences were found between microfilariae ofOnchocerca cervicalisin the uterus of the adult and those in the skin of the horse, suggesting that development occurs during migration from the adult worm to the skin.Uterine microfilariae can be divided into two types which represent stages of development not embryonic male and female worms.Skin microfilariae ofO. cervicaliswere readily distinguishable from those ofO. volvulusandO. gutturosa. Morphological comparisons between adult and larvalO. cervicaliscollected during this project with published descriptions ofO. reticulatashow that there is insufficient evidence for their specific separation.The first two papers in this series have dealt with the prevalence ofOnchocerca cervicalisin British horses and with the pathology caused by the parasite to the definitive host. The present paper is concerned with the morphology and taxonomy of the parasite, particularly the microfilarial stage.