The following pages summarize what is currently known regarding the general biology of Trichinella spiralis, and to indicate what still needs to be learned. 

•  Morphology – colorized schematics of the infective L1 larva and the female and male adult worm

•  Life Cycle – the enteral and parenteral phases of the life cycle are depicted in drawings by John Karapelou

•  Geographic Distribution – a colorized global map shows the approximate range of each species of Trichinella

• Enteral Phase Biology – a detailed description of the stages of Trichinella  that occur in the intestinal phase of its life cycle

• Parenteral Phase Biology – a detailed description of the stage of Trichinella in it’s Nurse cell niche (altered striated skeletal muscle cell)

• Nurse cell/parasite complex– a summary of molecular and morphological events leading up to the formation of the Nurse cell.