The Syngamidae are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

nematode The nematodes ( or grc-gre, Νηματώδη; la, Nematoda) or roundworms constitute the phylum Nematoda (also called Nemathelminthes), with plant-Parasitism, parasitic nematodes also known as eelworms. They are a diverse animal phylum inhab ...

s which commonly parasitize mammals,

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

, and rarely humans. They are classified in the Strongyloidae superfamily and Strongylata

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

.Eamsobhana P, Mongkolporn T, Punthuprapasa P, Yoolek A (2006). "Mammomonogamus roundworm (Nematoda: Syngamidae) recovered from the duodenum of a Thai patient: a first and unusual case originating in Thailand". ''Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg'' 100: 387–91. Notable

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

within the family Syngamidae include ''Syngamus trachea'', commonly known as the

gapeworm A gapeworm (''Syngamus trachea''), also known as a red worm and forked worm, is a parasitic nematode worm that infects the tracheas of certain birds. The resulting disease, known as "gape" occurs when the worms clog and obstruct the airway. Th ...

, which infests birds, and '' Mammomonogamus laryngeus'', which is a

parasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

of ungulates, cats, and

orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genus ...

s, and which can accidentally infect humans. Parasitic infection occurs when the host ingests the parasite via contaminated food, water, or intermediate hosts like

earthworms An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. Th ...

snails A snail is, in loose terms, a shelled gastropod. The name is most often applied to land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod molluscs. However, the common name ''snail'' is also used for most of the members of the molluscan class Gastrop ...

, and

arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...

. Worms usually migrate and inhabit the respiratory tract of hosts, where the male and female worms join in permanent copulation. Syngamidae nematodes are globally distributed and are important in veterinary parasitology.Gutierrez, Yezid. Diagnostic Pathology of Parasitic Infections with Clinical Correlations. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2518874 Strongylida Parasitic nematodes of vertebrates Nematode families