wuchereria

a genus of white threadlike parasitic worms (see FILARIA ) that live in the lymphatic vessels. W. bancrofti is a tropical and subtropical species that causes ELEPHANTIASIS , lymphangitis, and chyluria. The immature forms concentrate in the lungs during the day. At night they become more numerous in the blood vessels of the skin, from which they are taken up by blood-sucking mosquitoes, acting as carriers of the diseases they cause.