Paper II
2022 May (Supplementary) (2010 Scheme) · 40 marks · 120 min

Question

Draw and label Ancyclostoma ova

Q82 marksShort Notes

Answer

A labelled diagram cannot be rendered in this text-based answer; the description below covers the key structural/labelling features.

Egg (ovum) of Ancylostoma duodenale (hookworm):

  • Shape: oval to elliptical.
  • Shell: thin, smooth, colourless/transparent (non-bile-stained), doubly refractile.
  • Contents: typically contains a developing embryo at the 4–8-cell cleavage stage when passed in fresh stool — an important labelling feature (unlike, e.g., Enterobius eggs, which contain a fully formed larva).
  • Size: approximately 60 μm × 40 μm.
  • A clear space is visible between the developing embryo/cells and the egg shell.

Note: Necator americanus (the other major hookworm species) produces eggs that are essentially morphologically indistinguishable from Ancylostoma duodenale eggs on routine stool microscopy — species differentiation between the two requires examination of adult worm mouthparts (buccal capsule with cutting plates in Necator versus teeth in Ancylostoma) or larval culture, not egg morphology alone.

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