Definitions for "Filaria"
a small, slender nematode worm of the family Onchocercidae (Filariidae) of many species, parasitic when adult in various animals, including man. They may live within the blood, or in other bodily fluids, or within tissues or cavities of the body. Infection with such organisms may be transmitted by blood-sucking arthropods.
a former genus comprised of certain nematodes, now classed as belonging to several genera within the family Onchocercidae. See Onchocerca and Guinea worm.
A type of parasitic nematode that uses vertebrates as hosts. Filaria construct lymph vessels in humans and cause the disease elephantiasis. They are similarly destructive in amphibians.