Fig. 4

Scanning electron micrographs of S. japonicum male worms from the negative control group. Worms after 96 h of incubation showed no abnormalities in tegument topography (a) and the gynecophoral canal (GC) (b). In detail, numerous tegumental crests (TC) with sensory papillae (SP) were distributed along the body (c, d) and the inner wall of the GC showed high integrity and prominent spines (S) (e, f). Scale-bars: a, 1000 µm; b, 100 µm; c, 20 µm; d–f, 5 µm