n pl :  a family of digenetic trematodes including the genera Clonorchis and Opisthorcis and comprising trematodes that are parasitic as adults in the bile ducts of various birds and mammals including humans, that are ingested with fish as encysted metacercaria and freed in the digestive tract to make their way into the liver, and that are distinguished by the absence of a cirrus pouch and the presence of the ovary anterior to the testes .
 
 
 
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