Parasites: A Treatise on the Entozoa of Man and Animals: Including Some Account of the EctozoaCobbold, T. Spencer (Thomas Spencer)
Science
Parasites: A Treatise on the Entozoa of Man and Animals: Including Some Account of the Ectozoa
Cobbold, T. Spencer (Thomas Spencer)
Helminths; Parasites
Amongst some of the more interesting and remarkable cases recorded in
our English journals, I may instance that of Mr Hutchings, where a
complete cure followed the evacuation of the worm which had produced
convulsions. Mr Tuffnell records a case where irritability of the
bladder and stricture of the urethra were entirely dependent on
tapeworm, as proved by the subsequent recovery. At a meeting of the
Pathological Society, in 1853, Dr Winslow mentioned his experience of
three or four cases of mania arising from tapeworm; whilst on the same
occasion Drs Ryan and Davey each recorded a similar instance. A case has
also been previously published by Mr W. Wood. At a meeting of the London
Medical Society, held on the 10th of April, 1837, Dr Theophilus Thomson
(during an interesting discussion on this subject) stated the facts of
a case where the presence of tapeworm had given rise to a tumultuous
action of the heart, this symptom entirely disappearing after evacuation
of the worm. Our journals likewise (anonymously) record a considerable
number of cases from foreign sources. Thus, in the ‘London Medical
Gazette’ for 1840, there is the case of a lady, aged thirty-seven,
who had convulsions attended with a complete loss of consciousness,
the separate fits lasting an hour at a time. The passage of the worms
effected a complete cure. In the same journal for 1838, there is also
the case of a younger lady (aged twenty-seven) suffering from epilepsy,
in whom a complete cure had been similarly brought about; here, however,
in addition to a single specimen of the _Tænia solium_, there were
two lumbrici present. This journal also gives Ettmüller’s case, where
eighteen tapeworms were the cause of hysteria; and likewise the case
published by Steinbeck, where the symptoms presented an altogether
peculiar character. More precise references to some of the above cases
will be found in the ‘Bibliography’ below; and I may also refer to
my published lectures on Helminthology and especially to my separate
work on Tapeworms, where particulars of one hundred cases are briefly
recorded. These were all average cases occurring to me whilst in private
practice. Davaine’s book also abounds with remarkable cases.
Whilst the adult worm is capable of producing serious and even fatal
mischief to the bearer, the larvæ or measles much more frequently prove
fatal. The Cysticerci may develop themselves in almost any situation
in the human body, but they occur most commonly in the subcutaneous,
areolar, and intermuscular connective tissue; next, most commonly in
the brain and eye, and lastly, in the substance of the heart and other
viscera of the trunk.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account