Ascaridia galli is a parasitic roundworm belonging to the phylum Nematoda. Nematodes of the genus Ascaridia are essentially intestinal parasites of birds.AscaridiagalliFromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopediaJumptonavigationJumptosearchSpeciesofroundwormAscaridiagalliAdultwormsScientificclassificationKingdom:AnimaliaPhylum:NematodaClass:ChromadoreaOrder:AscarididaFamily:AscaridiidaeGenus:AscaridiaSpecies:A. galliBinomialnameAscaridiagalliSchrank,1788AscaridiagalliisaparasiticroundwormbelongingtothephylumNematoda.NematodesofthegenusAscaridiaareessentiallyintestinalparasitesofbirds.[1]A.galliisthemostprevalentandpathogenicspecies,especiallyindomesticfowl,Gallusdomesticus.Itcausesascaridiasis,adiseaseofpoultryduetoheavyworminfection,particularlyinchickensandturkeys.Itinhabitsthesmallintestine,andcanbeoccasionallyseenincommercialeggs.[2]Contents1Description2Lifecycle3Pathogenicity4Treatment5References6ExternallinksDescription[edit]Itisthelargestnematodeinbirds,withfemalesmeasuring72to112 mmlong.Thebodyissemitransparent,creamy-white,andcylindrical.Theanteriorendischaracterizedbyaprominentmouth,whichissurroundedbythreelarge,trilobedlips.Theedgesofthelipsbearteeth-likedenticles.[3]Thebodyisentirelycoveredwithathickproteinaceousstructurecalledcuticle.Thecuticleisstriatedtransverselythroughthelengthofthebodyandcuticularalaearepoorlydeveloped.Twoconspicuouspapillaearesituatedonthedorsallipandoneoneachofthesubventrallips.[4]Thesepapillaearethesensoryorgansofthenematode.A.galliisdieciouswithdistinctsexualdimorphism.Femalesareconsiderablylongerandmorerobust,withavulvaopeningatthemiddleportion(roughlymidwayfromanteriorandposteriorends)ofthebodyandanusattheposteriorendofthebody.Thetailendoffemalesischaracteristicallybluntandstraight.Malesarerelativelyshorterandsmaller(measuring50to76 mmlong),withadistinctpointedandcurvedtail.[5]Tenpairsofcaudalpapillaearefoundtowardsthetailregionofthebody,andtheyarearrangedlinearlyinwell-definedgroupssuchasprecloacal(threepairs),cloacal(onepair),postcloa