: any of various trematode worms (such as Fasciola hepatica) that invade the mammalian liver
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebThe 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
Word History
First Known Use
circa 1795, in the meaning defined above
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