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Updated: Jun 23, 2026
Planarian Ovary Dissection for Ultrastructural Analysis and Antibody Staining
Published on: September 10, 2021
[Observation on the ultrastructure of Taenia solium oncosphere]
Xiao-lin Sun1, Xue-peng Cai, Zhi-zhong Jing
1College of Veterinary Medicine, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
Objective:
To observe the ultrastructure of Taenia solium oncospheres.
Methods:
Patients infected with Taenia solium were de-wormed by decoction arecae and pumpkin seeds to get the mature proglottids and collect eggs. The eggs were treated with sodium hypochlorite to break the eggshells. Oncospheres were collected in Percoll (isoosmotic solution), and activated with artificial intestinal juice. The specimens were prepared with hot agar centrifugation for ultra-thin sections and observed with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) .
Results:
T. solium oncosphere was in oval shape with a size of (14-17) microm x (10-13) microm. There were some irregular ecphymata or plicae on its surface. The hooks were composed of outer pellet layer, the middle fibrous layer and the central core marrow. Myoblasts, hook-forming cells and cerebral cortex cells were observed in the mature oncospheres.
Conclusion:
The ultrastructure of Taenia solium oncosphere is similar to that of Hymenolepis diminuta, with difference in hooks. There are binucleate cells which play a role in forming epithelium in the development of oncospheres.
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