This well illustrated book provides an historical and unified overview of a century and a half of research on the development, life cycles, transmission and evolution of the nematodes found in vertebrates throughout the world. This second, expanded edition includes relevant data from some 450 new references that have appeared from 1989 to 1999. The volume includes nematode parasites of humans, domestic animals and wildlife including fish. After an introductory chapter outlining general principles, the author systematically describes the biological characteristics of the 27 superfamilies of nematodes, followed by families, subfamilies, genera and species.

Reprint of: CIH keys to the nematode parasites of vertebrates. Farnham Royal: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, 1974-1983.

For many years the Keys have provided a working tool to those within the field and laboratory needing to know "what is this worm?" They have also helped to establish a classification, using associations of characters, that gives real insight into nematode relationships across the group and their lines of evolution. This supplementary volume is designed to complement the original CIH Keys, now reprinted as one volume, with the additional convenience of reordering into superfamily. The supplement includes revised and redescribed taxa and draws attention to new taxa, to generic level, published by many authors after the original Keys were complete. It also identifies the current position of some of the older genera not included in the original Keys.