heartworm

heart·worm   (härt'wûrm')    n.   A filarial worm (Dirofilaria immitis) transmitted by mosquitoes and parasitic in the heart and associated blood vessels of dogs and other canids. The condition resulting from infestation with the heartworm.

Main Entry: heart·worm
Pronunciation: -"w&rm
Function: noun
1 : a filarial worm of the genus Dirofilaria (D. immitis) thatis especially common in warm regions, lives as an adult in the right heart especially of dogs, and discharges active larvae into the circulating blood whence they may be picked up by mosquitoes andtransmitted to other hosts and that may infect humans causing local pulmonary infarction but does not achieve sexual maturity in the human organism
2 : infestation with or diseaseespecially of dogs caused by the heartworm, resulting typically in gasping, coughing, and nervous disorder, and when severe commonly leading to death