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Dogwood Animal Hospital

Tapeworms

Black cat sitting in the grass

Tapeworms live in the digestive tracts of vertebrates as adults and often in the bodies of various animals as juveniles. In a tapeworm infection, adults absorb food predigested by the host, so the worms have no need for a digestive tract or a mouth. Large tapeworms are made almost entirely of reproductive structures with a small "head" for attachment. Symptoms vary widely, depending on the species causing the infection. The largest tapeworms can be 20 m or longer. Tapeworm awareness is importance to humans because they infect people and livestock. Two important tapeworms are the pork tapeworm and the beef tapeworm.