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a common parasite that causes schistosomiasis in humans in North Africa, other Mediterranean coastal regions, and the Arabian Peninsula. The adult worms are found in the veins, especially those of the vesical plexus, producing irritability of the bladder, hematuria, and dysentery. The parasites enter the body through the skin of persons coming in contact with infested waters, the invertebrate hosts being small snails of the genus Bulinus, including the subgenus Physopsis. Called also Bilharzia haematobia.Medical dictionary. 2011.