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.