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Anthelmintics are a type of medicine that kills helminths. Helminths are worm-like parasites such as flukes, roundworms, and tapeworms.

It is important that anthelmintics are selectively toxic to the parasite and not the host. Some work by inhibiting metabolic processes that are vital to the parasite but absent or not vital in the host. Other anthelmintics are poorly absorbed through the gut, which means the parasite is exposed to much higher concentrations of the anthelmintic than the host. Starvation or paralysis or the parasite result, followed by subsequent expulsion or digestion.