ˌ ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷_səˈmīəsə̇s noun
( plural schistosomia·ses -īəˌsēz)
Etymology: New Latin, from Schistosoma + -iasis
: infestation with or disease caused by schistosomes ; specifically : a severe endemic disease of man in much of Asia, Africa, and So. America that is caused by any of three schistosomes ( Schistosoma haematobium, S. mansoni, and S. japonicum ) which multiply in snail intermediate hosts and are disseminated into fresh waters as furcocercous cercariae that bore into the body when in contact with infested water, migrate through the tissues to the visceral venous plexuses (as of the bladder or intestine) where they attain maturity, and cause much of their injury through hemorrhage and damage to tissues resulting from the passage of the usually spined eggs to the intestine and bladder whence they pass out to start a new cycle of infection in snail hosts — compare schistosome dermatitis