Cercarial kissing marks-no superficial make-up

In the presence of fluorochrome-conjugated lectins, the products of schistosome cercarial penetration glands can be visualized as distinct deposits, or 'kissing marks', at sites of attachment and attempted penetration of the host's skin. Ewert Linder has observed that 'kissing marks' are also recognized by antibodies present in the schistosome-infected host. This has raised the question of whether cercarial secretions or antigenically related products play a role within the infected host, and has motivated studies on the distribution of such antigens in the parasite at different developmental stages.