- An extensive order of parasitic worms. They are
found in the internal cavities of animals belonging to all classes.
Many species are found, also, on the gills and skin of fishes. A few
species are parasitic on man, and some, of which the fluke is the most
important, are injurious parasites of domestic animals. The trematodes
usually have a flattened body covered with a chitinous skin, and are
furnished with two or more suckers for adhesion. Most of the species
are hermaphrodite. Called also Trematoda, and Trematoidea. See Fluke,
Tristoma, and Cercaria.
Definition
[ n. pl.]