Echinococcal

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Pertaining to a genus of parasitic worms that can lead to significant health issues in both animals and humans by creating cysts in various organs
2. Involving infections linked to tapeworms from a specific genus that primarily affect the liver and other tissues in its hosts
3. Relating to a type of parasitic infection caused by tapeworms that can result in the formation of cysts in internal organs of various hosts

Etymology: Echinococcal is a plain formation: the adjective "echinococcal" is built from "echinococcus" plus the suffix "-al," meaning "of or relating to." The base word "echinococcus" names the genus of tapeworms (the Echinococcus genus) and is itself a modern scientific coinage. Its parts come from Greek: "echinos" meaning "hedgehog" or "sea urchin," and "kokkos" meaning "berry" or "seed," an allusion to the spiny appearance of the adult worm's head, or to the hydatid cysts the larvae form. The genus takes its name from that Greek root, so the adjective simply describes anything connected to these parasites. It is most often used in medical and veterinary writing, for example of the cysts, infections or disease they cause in the liver, lungs and other organs of livestock, dogs and people.