An ER doctor recently shared “one of the most insane X-rays he has ever seen,” showing a person’s lower body infested with hundreds of calcified tapeworm eggs.
Tapeworms are parasites that usually anchor themselves to the inside of the intestines of their host, absorbing nutrients directly from the gut, but few people know that tapeworm eggs can travel anywhere inside the body of their host, from their feet all the way to the brain. Over time, these eggs calcify and are no longer viable, so they don’t pose much of a threat when they get lodged in soft tissues like muscles or fat, but they can cause a life-threatening condition known as neuro-cysticercosis when they calcify in the brain.
