Opisthorchis felineus
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Related to Opisthorchis felineus: Fasciola hepatica, Echinostoma ilocanum, Dicrocoelium dendriticum, Clonorchis sinensis, Paragonimus westermani
O·pis·thor·chis fe·li·n'e·us
the cat liver fluke, a species frequently found as a human parasite in Eastern Europe, Siberia, India, Japan, and Southeast Asia; adults are shaped like lancets, thin, relatively transparent, and hermaphroditic, with sizes ranging from 7-12 by 2-3 mm; ingested eggs hatch in Bithynia snails, and cercariae encyst on various species of freshwater fish; humans acquire the infection by ingesting raw or inadequately cooked fish; the parasites sometimes cause no evidence of disease, but cholangitis, biliary cirrhosis, and chronic pancreatitis may occur.
Opisthorchis
(o?pis-thor'kis) [? + orchis, testicle]A genus of liver flukes endemic to Asia.
Opisthorchis felineus
See: Opisthorchis tenuicollisOpisthorchis sinensis
A species common throughout Asia, acquired by humans who eat poorly cooked fish that contains the larval forms. O. sinensis is a relatively uncommon cause of biliary obstruction in Western nations.
Opisthorchis tenuicollis
A species found in cats and other mammals. Humans become infected by eating raw or poorly cooked fish containing the larval forms. It was formerly called O. felineus.