Definition
miracidia
noun
- Plural of miracidium; the free-swimming larval stage of certain parasitic flatworms (trematodes) that infects intermediate hosts such as snails.
Usage: biology; parasitology; technical term
Examples
- The miracidia of the schistosome parasite must find a suitable snail host within a few hours of hatching.
- Miracidia use their cilia to swim through freshwater in search of their intermediate hosts.
- The life cycle of trematodes begins when miracidia emerge from infected water.
- Researchers studied how miracidia penetrate the tissue of snail hosts.
- Environmental conditions affect the survival rate of miracidia in natural water systems.