Strongylids of Horses

Name

Greek: strongylos = rounded.

The term describes the cylindrical appearance of the worm body.

General Information

In the colon of horses and other equids parasitize so-called large and small strongylids, which belong to the most common and most important nematodes. The large ones are characterized by the fact that they migrate through the body of their hosts, while small strongylids have a direct inner life cycle (however, a histiotropic phase is passed in the wall of the colon before maturity is reached in the lumen of the intestine).

Large Strongylids of Horses ( Strongylus Species)

The four species (Strongylus vulgaris, S. asini, S. equinus and S. edentatus) measure as females about 15–50 mm in length and reach as males a length of about 10–35 mm. Infection occurs by oral uptake of eggs containing already the sheathed larva 3, which hatches from the egg inside the intestine and penetrates into the wall of the cecum or colon, where they start a migration phase after having...