The Cestoda are commonly known as tapeworms. Those listed here are tapeworms in which we can find eggs in the stool of someone infected with the adult stage. There are a few tapeworms in which humans can be accidental hosts only of the larval stage and thus, eggs will not be seen in the stool. Larval diagnosis can only be accomplished through imaging or surgery and is not included here. Taenia multiceps is an example in which the human can be an accidental host of the coenurus larva.
Table 4. An Overview of Cestodes (Tapeworms).| Species | Location of Adult Stage in the Human | Animal Hosting the Larval Stage | Method of Diagnosis |
| Diphyllobothrium latum (Dibothriocephalus latus) | Small intestine | The plerocercoid larva is found in the flesh of fish that had eaten crustaceans containing procercoid larvae. If humans eat the fish, the larvae develop into adult worms. If humans accidentally consume the crustaceans, they will host the plerocercoid larva. | Eggs in feces. (Surgical specimen if diagnosing the larval form.) |
| Hymenolepis nana | Small intestine | Arthropods that consume eggs. Humans can be accidental hosts of the cystecercoid larva if they consume the egg. | Eggs in feces. (Surgical specimen if diagnosing the larval form.) |
| Hymenolepis diminuta | Small intestine | Arthropods that consume eggs. Humans can be accidental hosts of the cystecercoid larva if they consume the egg. | Eggs in feces. (Surgical specimen if diagnosing the larval form.) |
| Taenia saginata | Small intestine | Cattle | Eggs in feces. |
| Taenia solium | Small intestine | Pigs that consume the eggs. Humans can be accidental hosts of the cysticercus larva if they consume the eggs. | Eggs in feces. (Surgical specimen or imaging if diagnosing the larval form.) |
| Echinococcus spp. | Adult is found in other mammals, not humans | Rodents, ungulates; humans are accidental hosts to the larval form, the hydatid cyst. | Surgery or imaging only because the adult form does not live in humans |
| Dipylidium caninum | Small intestine (human is an incidental host - usually dogs are the definitive host) | Fleas | Eggs in the feces. |
