In parasitology, an intermediate host is an organism that is infected with a parasite that will not reproduce sexually within it, while a definitive host is one in which the parasite reproduces. For example, the broad fish tapeworm Diphylobothrium latum develops in fish for part of its life cycle but only reproduces when it is in a mammal digestive tract, so its intermediate host is the fish and its definitive host is the mammal. Parasitology is the study of parasites, their hosts, and the relationship between them. ... A parasite is an organism that lives in or on the living tissue of a host organism at the expense of that host. ... Groups Conodonta Hyperoartia Petromyzontidae (lampreys) Pteraspidomorphi (early jawless fish) Thelodonti Anaspida Cephalaspidomorphi (early jawless fish) Galeaspida Pituriaspida Osteostraci Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates) Placodermi Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish) Acanthodii Osteichthyes (bony fish) Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish) Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish) Actinistia (coelacanths) Dipnoi (lungfish) A fish is a poikilothermic (cold-blooded)* water-dwelling... Orders Subclass Monotremata Monotremata Subclass Marsupialia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Subclass Placentalia Xenarthra Dermoptera Desmostylia Scandentia Primates Rodentia Lagomorpha Insectivora Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora Perissodactyla Artiodactyla Cetacea Afrosoricida Macroscelidea Tubulidentata Hyracoidea Proboscidea Sirenia The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of mammary glands... For the Physics term GUT, please refer to Grand unification theory The gastrointestinal or digestive tract, also referred to as the GI tract or the alimentary canal or the gut, is the system of organs within multicellular animals which takes in food, digests it to extract energy and nutrients, and...

Because the life cycles of many parasites are poorly understood, sometimes the "more important" organism is arbitrarily defined as definitive, and this designation may continue even after it is determined to be incorrect. For example, sludge worms are sometimes considered "intermediate hosts" for whirling disease, even though it is known that the parasite causing the disease reproduces sexually inside them[1]. Whirling disease is a parasitic infection that causes disease in North American cold water fish species, namely trout. ...

In Trichinella spiralis, the roundworm that causes trichinosis, a host has both reproductive adults in its digestive tract and immature juveniles in its muscles, and is therefore considered both an intermediate host and a definitive host. All gone! ... Trichinosis, also called trichinellosis, is a parasitic disease caused by eating raw or undercooked pork and wild game products infected with the larvae of a species of roundworm Trichinella spiralis, commonly called the trichina worm. ...