This lab session has three goals:
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The first several lectures in this course are based on an extensive treatment of six "example parasites". These are two protozoans, a trematode, a nematode, an arthropod, and a tapeworm. They are not necessarily typical representatives of their respective taxa, but they are important parasites of humans or other animals and have been extensively researched. This first lab introduces you to the "example parasites". You will learn about their basic life cycles, and see what they look like in their various life cycle stages. We present these in the first lab so that you will already be familiar with these species when they are covered in lecture.
These "example parasites" are also included in later labs that examine parasite diversity. The material you will view for each species in this lab is only a subset of what is available in the later labs. Nevertheless, if you examine the material carefully now, you will not have to spend time on it in those other labs!