ECHINOCOCCUS

[echi.no.coc.cus] n, pl -coc.ci [NL, genus name] (1839): any of a genus (Echinococcus) of tapeworms that alternate a minute adult living as a commensal in the intestine of carnivores with a hydatid larva invading tissues esp. of the liver of cattle, sheep, swine, and humans and acting as a dangerous pathogen