Life cycle of Mesocestoides corti in the dog (Canis familiaris).

Ten Beagle pups were each inoculated per os with 2,000 tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides corti from mice. The dogs were necropsied at 5-day intervals and the small intestine of each dog was divided into 3 equidistant sections. Adult cestodes were counted and characterized morphologically. The M corti reproduced asexually in the Beagles by longitudinal splitting of the parent scolex, separation of a new individual, and subsequent regrowth of 2 additional suckers on both the parent and newly formed scolices. Five days after the tetrathyridia were given, evidence of parent scolex division was present. The ability of M corti to reproduce asexually in the definitive host enabled rapid proliferation of new organisms, with approximately 53,000 present 45 days after inoculation.