fecal smear:
a diagnostic technique in which a sample of feces is spread thinly on a glass slide, stained and examined microsopically for parasites.
festoon:
rectangular areas separated by grooves along the posterior dorsal margin of ticks.
filariform:
possessing a simple, tubular esophagus.
fixation artifact:
any change in the structure of an organism induced during its preservation or other processing; used all too often as the basis for describing new species.
flagellum:
motile, long, cylindrical organelle containing a longitudinal bundle of microtubules and surrounded by a plasma membrane; usually present singly or in small numbers.
fluke:
common name for Digenea and Monogenea.
follicular vitellaria:
vitelline glands present as small follicles dispersed throughout the body, connected by a system of ducts.
furca:
an external, sclerotized, forked structure used for attachment.
furcocercous:
a cercaria possessing a forked tail.