SEC-S16 / W1 | "An Artistic Parasite🪱"

If you eat pork meat, you'll take worm into your body. Our mothers would tell us. We'll be asked the parasite with the botanical name of Taenia SP. This was a challenge to me then not until I read and discovered the parasite with this botanical name is TAPEWORM. What do you know about tapeworm? I'll start by showing you how it looks artistically. I choose to be different in this contest. Instead of using pencil to draw, I thought of using cley to be creative.

Clay
Water
Flat surface
Gravels	leaves

• I started my creativity by first of all getting clay from the ground and then contained it in a bucket. I took some out which I'll use for roughing. I then soaked the clay with water considerably and mixed it with my hands till it becomes sticky and ready for use.
  

• I ensured I mixed it well to standard. I then took it bit by bit and started molding it, hitting the surfaces hard with my palms so the won't be any room for cracks. I did this for quite a long time and then kept what I have pressed on the surface as shown below.

• Since this seemed to be a difficult task, I started from the proglottids which happens to be the segmented part of the body. I took what I pressed and moulded it with my hands to attain a flat shape as that of a tape. It wasn't that easy attaining such flat and balanced shape.

• After moulding the body, I took to moulding the head and then the head, scolex and hooks/suckers. It was a very difficult task as I spent almost ,2 hours doing this.

• I then took to doing the remaining segments of the tapeworm. The tapeworm looks rough from this picture. While moulding, I used water to make It strong by rubbing the surface with water so it would be sticky and won't break.

• I then took to doing decorations and the segments with a broom stick. That's how I attained this tapeworm that looks hilarious like an Idol.

Tapeworms as the name implies is a worm that has a measuring tape like structure. It's as long as a measuring tape and flat as well. They are actually parasites of which this contest did specify in the title. Parasites are those organisms that affects the internal and external organ of another organism especially plants, animals and humans.

These parasites cause harm to these organisms and sometimes lead to diseases. A typical example is the malaria parasite called mosquito. It is an ecto parasite that causes harm to the body of humans and then infect.

The botanical name of this parasite as taught in school is Taenia SP or sodium. Tapeworms falls under the class called Cesdotia. Tapeworms lives in the intestinal tract of various animals such as cows and pigs and cause harm to these animals.

_{picture from my phone's book and album}

Its segmented body or tape serves as a medium for its adaptation and survival. It also has various features that helps it survive in the bodies of these organisms. I'll mention or state these features or parts and their uses. The segments of tapeworm aren't mere divisions but also independent modules that are capable of the function of self containing. This segments also adds to its resilience to predators.

Scolex

This scolex is the anterior end of the tapeworm, armed with hooks and suckers for adaptation. Its uses this scolex to enter the hosts intestine and allows its absorb nutrients directly through the surface of its body. The scolex also secured its position in the nutrient-rich environment of the digestive system of the host. The host In this context is called the animal the tapeworm is infesting on. This acts more like the mouth of humans and even mosquitoes.

Proglottids

This is the segmented part of the tapeworm body that looks more like a ribbon. Each segment or proglottid houses a complete set of reproductive organs. As new proglottids are formed at the neck region of the tapeworm, the old ones moves towards the tail end which detaches eventually and releases eggs into the digestive tract of its host. This means that new proglottids doesn't start from the tail but from the neck region. This process ensures a continuous cycle of the production and dispersal of eggs by the tapeworm. In summary, this proglottids helps in self-contained reproduction by the tapeworm.

This tapeworm relies on its host for nutrients to sustain its lifespan. The absorptive surface across the body enables the tapeworm to absorb predigested nutrients directly from the digestive juice or enzymes of the host in the absence of digestive system.

Almost every lifecycle starts with the egg which produces mature proglottids or segments. These eggs produced are released into the host's digestive tract when old proglottids pull off and detaches from the main body.

• The eggs produced are often ingested by an intermediate host such as pigs and cows. How? When they eats grasses or drink water depending on the specie of tapeworm, they absorb the eggs if these tapeworm which once ingested matures and turn into Larvae which is capable of penetrating into the host tissues.

• When the Larvae develops, a fluid filled cysts forms which contains the immature tapeworm. These cysts are usually found in the organs or muscles especially of the intermediate host.

• After this, the next cycle is when the definite host likely a human consumes the intermediate host such as pigs and then take in this cysts into its body. The tapeworm matures in the digestive system of the definite host . The scolex formed is used for attachments to the intestinal lining of the host of which the proglottids starts developing or growing.

• When these proglottids grow, eggs are produced and old proglottids are pulled off and the cycle starts again.

In conclusion, this my artistic parasite can be very dangerous that's why deworming is encouraged at least twice in a month. I hope you love my creativity. I invite @ngoenyi, @patjewell and @emmyjnr to participate.