32 Mr. H. J. Carter on Dracunculus. 



a million. I have never seen any in capsules, or anything like 

 the remains of capsules, though I think we may fairly infer 

 that the granular matter is the remains of the embryonal enve- 

 lopes, whatever these may have been. 



There being no indication in the ovisac of any connexion with 

 a vagina, and no vaginal orifice to be found externally, it might 

 naturally be inferred that the ovisac could only obtain an exit 

 by bursting through some part of the body, and that, as it is 

 the head ol Dracunculus which always protrudes first, this rup- 

 ture is somewhere in its neighbourhood. To satisfy myself that 

 such was the fact, I selected a case where the bleb which covers 

 that part of the skin through which the head has ulcerated was 

 unopened, and having carefully cut away the cuticle thus raised, 

 saw the head of the Guinea-worm extruded for a line or two 

 beyond the wound, when, on pouring some water over it, to 

 see it more clearly, the ovisac immediately burst forth from it 

 to the extent of an inch or more. I then carefully tied a piece 

 of thread round the protruded part of the body of the Guinea- 

 worm as far back as possible, and having prevented its retracting 

 by drawing it out a little and placing another ligature beyond 

 this, severed the worm between the two ligatures, and took away 

 the head for microscopical examination. On proceeding with the 

 latter, I found that the ovisac had passed out through a distinctly 

 ruptured hole, which was situated 1 -160th of an inch from the 

 head ; and knowing that no aperture exists here naturally, there 

 could no longer be any doubt that the rupture had been occa- 

 sioned by the distended ovisac, rendered much more so perhaps 

 at the moment by the imbibition of the water which was poured 

 over the wound just before the rupture took place. 



Size. I have never yet measured a Guinea- worm which was 

 beyond 32 inches in length, and, when fresh and fully distended, 

 about l-9th of an inch in breadth. This I should regard as the 

 maximum size in Bombay ; but they may be of all lengths below 

 this. 



Male. Not seen by myself. Professor Owen has figured one 

 with an inflated, round, posterior extremity, and a single spicu- 

 lum projecting from the apex, of which he states, " The caudal 

 extremity of the male [Filaria Medinensis^ is obtuse, and emits 

 a single spiculum.'^ 



Young Dracunculus. Plate I. fig. 6. 



Microscopic, filiform, minutely striated transversely, slightly 

 diminishing towards the head, which is obtuse, tapering towards 

 the tail, which is very long and whip-like ; presenting a slight 

 inflation at the root of the tail, to accommodate a glandular 

 organ of the interior ; head without papillse ; mouth punctiform. 



