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[Philophthalmus spp.]

Philophthalmus spp. are eye flukes in birds; humans are rarely parasitized.  Like all flukes, adults possess both an oral sucker and a ventral sucker (acetabulum).  One characteristic of Philophthalmus spp. is the large pharynx.

A	B

A: Adult Philophthalmus sp., removed from the conjunctiva of a patient, stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E).  In this figure, the following structures are labeled:  oral sucker (OS), acetabulum (AC), and one of the large, paired testes (TE).  The positioning of the specimen during preparation did not allow for demonstration of the large pharynx.
B: Close up of the anterior end of the worm is Figure A.

C	D

C: Adult Philophthalmus sp., removed from the conjunctiva of an artificially-infected chicken, stained with H&E.  Illustrated in this figure is one of the large, paired testes (TE).
D: Close-up of the anterior end of the worm in Figure B, showing a close-up of the oral sucker (OS), pharynx (PH), and acetabulum (AC).