Extraurinary schistosomiasis in Southern Iraq

Ninety-six cases of extraurinary schistosomiasis due to Schistosoma haematobium were encountered in a retrospective histopathological study of cases encountered over a period of 12 years in Southern Iraq. Seventy-six cases involved three main systems, namely the female genital system (29 cases), male genital system (15 cases) and the lower intestinal tract (32 cases). In the remaining 20 cases unusual sites such as lymph nodes, skin, liver and lungs were affected. In none of these cases did the clinician initially consider schistosomiasis to be the cause of the patient's illness prior to the histological diagnosis.