liver fluke

noun

: any of various trematode worms (such as Fasciola hepatica) that invade the mammalian liver

Examples of liver fluke in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Some of those holes will have liver flukes living inside them. Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 29 Feb. 2024 Then there's the lancet liver fluke, whose complicated life cycle relies on successfully invading successive hosts: snails, ants, and grazing mammals. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 20 Sep. 2023 Yes, ivermectin is approved for some human uses: It is used to cure parasitic diseases that mostly occur in low-income countries, such as river blindness and liver flukes. Maryn McKenna, WIRED, 19 July 2023 The Chinese liver fluke requires wet marshy areas to sustain its life cycle and could not have been endemic to this arid region. Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 25 July 2016 The doctors treated the man with a blood transfusion and the anti-parasitic drug triclabendazole, which is used specifically to treat liver flukes. Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 8 Nov. 2019 The doctors extracted some of the worms and identified them as the common liver fluke Fasciola hepatica. Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 8 Nov. 2019 There’s Toxoplasma gondii, which drives mice to seek out cats eager to eat them, and the liver fluke Dicrocoelium dendriticum, which motivates ants to climb blades of grass, exposing them to cows and sheep hungry for a snack. Quanta Magazine, 29 June 2017 The parasite, the lancet liver fluke, is a flatworm that jumps between different animal species to complete its life cycle. Laura Yan, Popular Mechanics, 10 June 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'liver fluke.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1795, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of liver fluke was circa 1795

Dictionary Entries Near liver fluke

Cite this Entry

“Liver fluke.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/liver%20fluke. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

liver fluke

noun
: any of various trematode worms that invade the liver of mammals

Medical Definition

liver fluke

noun
: any of various trematode worms that invade the mammalian liver
especially : one of the genus Fasciola (F. hepatica) that is a major parasite of the liver, bile ducts, and gallbladder of cattle and sheep, causes fascioliasis in humans, and uses snails of the genus Lymnaea as an intermediate host see chinese liver fluke
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