Morphology of Cysticercus bovis during its development

On day 14 p.i., C. bovis is a spherical formation without cavity (in neonatally infected calves, the cavity already starts to form). On day 21 p.i., a conical anlage of the scolex is formed and on day 23 p.i., it bears a conspicuous invagination of the tegument. On day 28 p.i., the scolex with spiral canal, sucker anlages and single calcareous bodies is developed. On day 42 p.i., the suckers are fully differentiated and the calcareous bodies in scolex parenchyma are distributed up to below the level of suckers. On day 55 p.i., the calcareous bodies are present in the morphologically differentiated scolex even below the suckers. The authors assume that at that time the larva is already infective and if its infectivity is assessed on the basis of morphological criteria, the presence, number and distribution of calcareous bodies should be considered.