Calcification in an ageing Ligula intestinalis (L) plerocercoid from a bream (Abramis brama L.).

Light and transmission electron microscopy of the strobila of a large old Ligula intestinalis plerocercoid has revealed microcrystals with a morphology similar to that of microapatite crystals from vertebrates. Analysis of the microcrystals with EMMA-4 showed them to contain calcium and phosphorus. The tissue in the immediate vicinity of the microcrystals shows signs of necrosis while further away it is histologically normal.