fish tapeworm

noun

: a large tapeworm of the genus Diphyllobothrium (D. latum) that as an adult infests the human intestine, is sometimes associated with a peculiar macrocytic anemia resembling pernicious anemia, and goes through its early stages in copepods and intermediate stages in freshwater fishes from which it is transmitted to humans or other fish-eating mammals when raw fish is eaten

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“Fish tapeworm.” Merriam-Webster.com Medical Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/fish%20tapeworm. Accessed 7 Nov. 2025.

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