Why is taenia solinum not digested in the intestine of man?
Answers
Explanation:
digestion takes place in the human intestines. Digestion takes place in the stomach. Intestines are where the nutrients are absorbed into the body, and the conditions there are much more favourable for parasites like tapeworms. The stomach produces hydrochloric acid strong enough to burn a hole in a rug and is also home to lot of other strong digestive enzymes. Any tapeworm venturing there would get digested in seconds.
Answer: This is because of the presence of the cuticle. The cuticle is a tough exoskeleton that forms the outermost covering of nematodes. The cuticle is flexible, resilient and quite impervious to environmental changes. This cuticle helps the nematodes survive in the harshest of external environments. This is one of the reasons why these worms are not digested in the intestine of man. The adult Taenia solinum worms reside in the small intestine of man. The small intestine of man is quite neutral in terms of pH and this also reduces the chances of these worms from being digested.