An X-ray image has been making waves online this week, revealing the unsettling reality of what a parasite looks like when it burrows into human soft tissue.

Let’s just say, “it’s definitely not for the faint-hearted.”

The image, originally shared on social media by ER medic Sam Ghali, has been described as one of the most shocking body scans he’s ever encountered in his career.

The unsettling X-ray reveals the lower half of a patient’s body, including the abdomen, buttocks, and upper thighs, all seemingly filled with countless tiny, irregularly shaped entities.

Dr. Ghali identified the condition as ‘cysticercosis,’ an infection caused by the pork tapeworm.

In his online explanation, he wrote: “Essentially, these are larval cysts of taenia solium,” referring to the eggs that enter the body through consuming undercooked pork.

Once inside the body, these cysts develop into adult tapeworms that can live in the intestines for 5 to 12 weeks.

Interestingly, Dr. Ghali clarified that cysticercosis doesn’t affect the person who initially ate the pork but instead infects someone else later in the cycle.

“The life cycle begins with a human consuming raw or undercooked pig,” he shared on social media, detailing how the process unfolds.

When a person becomes infected with these worms in their digestive system, they unknowingly spread the eggs to someone else. This happens when the next individual ends up consuming the eggs, continuing the unfortunate cycle.

Cysticercosis begins to develop in individuals who consume undercooked pork and then fail to thoroughly clean their hands after using the bathroom. Through fecal-oral transmission, the eggs make their way into another person, leading to the development of cysticercosis.

These cysts can migrate to various parts of the body. In the case of the patient shown in the x-ray, the cysts appear to have settled in the muscles around the hips and legs.

“What happens is they lodge here, and over time, they calcify,” Dr. Ghali explained. “And that gives them this classic appearance known as rice grain calcification.”

Despite how alarming it may seem, he clarified that this type of infestation doesn’t actually pose any direct physical threat to this part of the body. The patient only visited the emergency room because of a broken bone.

However, there are instances where cysticercosis can become life-threatening—particularly if the cysts migrate to the brain. In such cases, they can trigger symptoms like confusion, severe headaches, seizures, and, in extreme situations, even prove fatal.

According to data from the World Health Organization, approximately 2.8 million people are infected with this kind of parasite each year, with the highest number of cases reported in regions such as Asia, South America, and Eastern Europe.

“Do your best to keep clean, always wash your hands, and never, ever eat raw or undercooked pork,” Ghali advised.