Main Entry: schis·to·so·mi·a·sis

Pronunciation: \ˌshis-tə-sō-ˈmī-ə-səs\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural schis·to·so·mi·a·ses \-ˌsēz\

Etymology: New Latin, from Schistosoma

Date: 1906

: infestation with or disease caused by schistosomes; specifically : a severe endemic disease of humans in Africa and parts of Asia and South America that is contracted when cercariae released into freshwaters (as rivers) by a snail intermediate host penetrate the skin and that is marked especially by blood loss and tissue damage —called also snail fever