The Animal Parasites of ManFantham, Harold Benjamin
Science
The Animal Parasites of Man
Fantham, Harold Benjamin
Medical parasitology
In the amœbic stage it is 15 µ to 25 µ in diameter; ecto- and
endo-plasm during rest are indistinguishable. The body substance
is granular, with a spherical, sharply contoured nucleus and an
accessory nuclear body. No vacuoles are present, but occasionally the
endoplasm contains red blood corpuscles. The pseudopodia are hyaline,
finger- or lobe-shaped, and are protruded either singly or in twos.
Multiplication is by binary fission and by the formation of spherical
cysts (15 µ to 20 µ in diameter) in which occurs successive division
of the nuclei, ultimately forming ten to twelve roundish bodies
each of which soon develops a flagellum. The flagellate stages have
similarly a spherical shape and attain a diameter of 10 µ to 15 µ.
They also occasionally contain red blood corpuscles and pass either
directly or after longitudinal division into the amœboid phase.
Craig found these Amœbæ and the flagellate stage belonging to them in
six patients in the military hospital at Manila (Philippine Islands),
five of whom were suffering from simple diarrhœa whilst the sixth
exhibited an amœbic enteritis and contained also _Paramœba hominis_,
with _Entamœba histolytica_, Schaudinn. In one of the other cases,
_Trichomonas intestinalis_ was present.
B. *Amœbæ from other Organs.*
*Entamœba pulmonalis*, Artault, 1898.
Artault[33] discovered a few amœboid forms with nucleus and vacuole
in the contents of a lung cavity. In the fresh condition they were
distinguishable from leucocytes by their remarkable capacity of light
refraction. They were also much slower than the latter in staining
with methylene blue or fuchsine. Their movements became more lively
in a strong light. Water and other reagents killed them, and then,
even when stained, they could not be distinguished from leucocytes.
They have also been seen by Brumpt. R. Blanchard found amœbæ which may
belong here in the lungs of sheep. _A. pulmonalis_ is perhaps the same
as _Entamœba buccalis_. Smith and Weidman[34] (1910, 1914) described
an entamœba, _E. mortinatalium_, from the lungs and other organs of
infants in America.
[33] _Arch. de Parasitologie_, i, p. 275.
[34] _Amer. Journ. Trop. Dis. and Prevent. Med._, ii, p. 256.
*Amœba urogenitalis*, Baelz, 1883.
This species was found in masses in the sanguineous urine as well
as in the vagina of a patient in Japan, aged 23. Shortly before the
death of the patient, which was caused by pulmonary tuberculosis,
hæmaturia with severe tenesmus of the bladder had set in. The amœba,
which showed great motility, and had a diameter of about 50 µ when
quiescent, exhibited a granular cytoplasm and a vesicular nucleus.
Baelz is of opinion that these parasites were introduced into the vulva
with the water used for washing the parts, and thence had penetrated
into the bladder and vagina. Doflein places the organism in the genus
_Entamœba_, and it is perhaps identical with _E. histolytica_.
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