Exsheathment of infective larvae of Cooperia curticei

Abstract

Extract

Although exsheathment of the infective larvae of many strongylate nematode parasites of ruminants has been studied (Rogers, 1966), that of Cooperia curticei larvae has not. By analogy with other trichostrongylid species inhabiting the small intestine, they would be expected to exsheath in response to conditions provided by the abomasum, perhaps, as with Trichostrongylus colubriformis, with a potentiating effect of bile salts in the small intestine (Mapes, 1972). It was decided to see if C. curticei larvae exsheathed as expected; no attempt was made to define precisely the conditions necessary for exsheathment but rather to establish the site at which the stimulus is received.