Human Instestinal Roundworm

Just the simple idea of thinking that some sort of worm might be inside you is a little creepy. Well that was the same feeling i felt in my previous biology class that I had last semester when we were discussing roundworms. Ascaris lumbricoides is the human intestinal roundworm that is found the digestive tract. This kind of worm in ingested into your digestive tract by eating the eggs of the female worm which are found in warm soil, unclean water, and unwashed raw fruit and vegetables. Once a person has eaten the eggs they pass through the stomach into the duodenum where they hatch and the larvae burrow themselves into the intestinal tissue lining. The larvae stays in the intestinal tissue until it pushes itself out through the blood vessel wall into the blood stream, which is then carried into the liver, heart, and then ends up in the lungs where it continues to grow. From the lungs the larvae can either be coughed out through the mouth or nose but if it's not it can be swallowed back into the stomach and into the small intestine. The larvae may only survive the acidity of the stomach if it is mature enough, once in the small intestine the larvae continues to expand the females can grow up to 45 centimeters and the males are much smaller then the females. These worms thrive in places where water is contaminated and there are poor hygenical methods among people.