The structure of the shell and polar plugs of the egg of the whipworm, Trichuris trichiura (Nematoda : Trichuridae) from the Samango monkey (Cercopithecus albogularis)

Abstract

The structure of the shell of the egg of Trichuris trichiura was examined using light microscopy as well as scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The results confirmed its three-layered structure and provided evidence that the cores of the polar plugs, which could be seen to be extensions of the shell's middle layer, could be lost en bloc, either mechanically or chemically, and in this way probably provided an exit for the first stage larva at hatching.