Dark-field light micrograph of whipworms (Trichuris trichiura). These nematode parasites infect humans and cause trichuriasis, a type of helminthiasis, an often neglected tropical disease. They are commonly known as whipworms due to their shape: the front is narrow and pointed and resembles a hair or whip, and the rear is around five or six times wider. Adult worms live in the large intestine with their head buried in the intestine wall. A female can produce more than 10,000 eggs per day, which are excreted in the faeces. When an egg is ingested by a suitable host it hatches in the small intestine. Whipworms can live for several years usually without causing significant harm to their host, although diarrhoea, dysentery and anaemia may be experienced.