Cuticular inflations in whipworms, Trichuris spp.

Whipworms have blister-like bulges of cuticle along either side of the bacillary band at the anterior level of the oesophagus. Comparison of these structures using light microscopy and both scanning and transmission electron microscopy in specimens of Trichuris trichlura (Linnaeus. 1771), Trichuris vulpis (Froelich, 1798), and Trichuris myocastoris Enigk, 1933 indicates that they are formed by an increase in the fluid component of the median layer of the cuticle. They are therefore considered as examples of cuticular inflation, although their function is uncertain. kwTrichuris; cuticle; ultrastructure.