Oken, in whose journal, _Isis_ (1818, p. 729), Bojanus published his discovery, remarks in an annotation, “One might lay a wager that these Cercariæ are the embryos of Distomes.” Soon after (1827), C. E. v. Baer was able to confirm Bojanus’ hypothesis that the cercariæ as a “heterogeneous brood” originated from spores in parasitic tubes in snails (germinating tubes). Moreover, Mehlis (_Isis_, 1831, p. 190) not only discovered the opercula of the ova of _Distoma_, but likewise saw the infusorian-like embryo emerge from the eggs of _Typhlocœlum_ (_Monostomum_) _flavum_ and _Cathæmasia_ (_Distoma_) _hians_. A few years later (1835) v. Siebold observed the embryos (miracidia) of the _Cyclocœlum_ (_Monostomum_) _mutabile_, and discovered in their interior a cylindrical body that behaved like an independent being (“necessary parasite”), and was so similar in appearance to the “royal yellow worms” (Bojanus) that Siebold considered the origin of the latter from the embryos of trematodes as, at all events, possible. Meanwhile, v. Nordmann of Helsingfors had in 1832 seen the miracidia of flukes provided with eyes swimming in water; v. Siebold (1835) had observed the embryos, or oncospheres, of tapeworms furnished with six hooklets in the so-called eggs of the Tænia; while Creplin (1837) had discovered the “infusorial” young of the _Diphyllobothrium_ (_Bothriocephalus_) _ditremum_, and conjectured that similar embryos were to be found in other cestodes with operculated eggs. At all events, the fact was established that the progeny of the helminthes appeared in various forms and was partly free living. The researches of Eschricht (1841) were likewise of influence, as they elucidated the structure of the Bothriocephali, and proved that the encysted and sexless helminthes were merely immature stages. J. I. Steenstrup (1842) was, however, the first to furnish explanations for the numerous isolated and uncomprehended discoveries. Commencing with the remarkable development of the Cœlenterata, he established the fact that the Helminthes, especially the endoparasitic trematodes, multiply by means of alternating and differently formed generations. Just as the polyp originating from the egg of a medusa represents a generation of medusæ, so does the germinal tube (“royal yellow worm”) originating from the ciliated embryo of a Distoma, etc., represent the cercaria. These were consequently regarded as the progeny of trematodes, and Steenstrup, guided by his observations, conjectured that the cercaria, whose entrance into the snails he had observed accompanied by the simultaneous loss of the propelling tail, finally penetrated into other animals, in which they became flukes.