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Micro World

How small is an Ascaris lumbricoides egg?

An Ascaris lumbricoides egg is about 60 µm long.

What is measured: fertilized roundworm egg, length

Ascaris lumbricoides Egg (60 µm) drawn to scale beside a cloud droplet (20 µm) and a human hair (70 µm)
Drawn to scale, from left to right: Cloud droplet (20 µm), Ascaris lumbricoides Egg (60 µm) and Human hair (70 µm).

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How big is that, really?

  • About 86% of the width of a human hair
  • About 52% of the width of a human egg cell
  • About 3× the width of a cloud droplet
  • About 8× the width of a red blood cell
  • About 8 would fit across a grain of sand

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Facts about Ascaris lumbricoides Egg

Ascaris eggs have a thick, bumpy shell that lets them survive in soil for years while remaining infectious.

Source: CDC: Ascariasis; WHO Parasitology Atlas

Micro World

NameSizeCompared with Ascaris lumbricoides Egg
Dandelion Pollen Grain35 µm0.58×
Tetrahymena thermophila50 µm0.83×
Ascaris lumbricoides Egg60 µmthis page
Human Cheek Epithelial Cell60 µmsame size
Pine Pollen Grain70 µm1.2×
Human Adipocyte100 µm1.7×
Euplotes100 µm1.7×
Human Cardiomyocyte100 µm1.7×
Human Smooth Muscle Cell100 µm1.7×
Onion Epidermal Cell100 µm1.7×

Test your sense of scale

Which is bigger: Ascaris lumbricoides Egg or Tetrahymena thermophila?

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