lungworm
1
8.0
- noun
- /ˈlʌŋˌwɜrm/
- Specialized
- The rat lungworm can lead to serious respiratory problems in humans if left untreated.
Examples
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The lungworm, discovered in 1988 by Canadian biologists, apparently causes sickness and possibly death in heavily infected animals and reduces their overall vitality.
Academic text (1996) -
He has lungworms, sir.
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Some lungworms pursue a different strategy, however.
Academic text (2000) -
PHOTO (COLOR): The muskox may be the sole host for the largest known lungworm, Umingmakstrongylus pallikuukensi.
Academic text (1996) -
If the lungworm lands in a patch of grass (and not on another cowpat), its odds of being eaten by a cow are much improved.
Academic text (2000) -
When one of the lungworms touches a spore package, it latches on and climbs up to the top.
Academic text (2000) -
They keep their distance because the manure often carries the eggs of parasites such as lungworms.
Academic text (2000) -
The trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles of these animals were explored carefully for the presence of the adult lungworms.
Academic text (2014) -
Soon, the fungus catapults itself six feet into the air, soaring away from the manure like a puddle jumper, with the lungworm going along for the ride.
Academic text (2000) -
Health authorities are warning about the spread of lungworm infections after recent cases were reported.
Synonyms
1
4.4
A small animal that lives inside another animal and takes its food, often causing sickness
1
9.8
A worm that lives inside the body of animals or people and causes illness
1
7.1
A very small thin animal with a pointed body that lives in soil or inside other living things
A parasite that lives inside an animal's body, often in the intestines
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Lungworm is simply two common English words: lung ('the breathing organ') and worm ('a small creeping creature'). So a lungworm is literally a worm that lives in the lungs, which explains why it causes coughing and other breathing problems.