A thin parasitic worm which is found especially in the lymph system, and is passed to humans by mosquitoes.
Any of the long threadlike nematode worms that, as adults, are parasites of the connective and lymphatic tissues of man capable of causing disease. They include the genera Brugia, Loa, Onchocerca, and Wuchereria. Filariae differ from the intestinal nematodes in that they undergo part of their development in the body of a bloodsucking insect, e.g. a mosquito, on which they subsequently depend for their transmission to another human host.
Term formerly applied to a genus of nematodes belonging to the superfamily Filarioidea.
A long thread-shaped nematode belonging to the superfamily Filarioidea. The adults live in vertebrates. In humans, they may infect the lymphatic vessels and lymphatic organs, circulatory system, connective tissues, subcutaneous tissues, and serous cavities. Typically, the female produces larvae called microfilariae, which may be sheathed or sheathless. They reach the peripheral blood or lymphatic vessels, where they may be ingested by a bloodsucking arthropod (a mosquito, gnat, or fly). In the intermediate host, they transform into rhabditoid larvae that metamorphose into infective filariform larvae. These migrate to the proboscis and are deposited in or on the skin of the vertebrate host.