PLATYHELMINTHES 



8i 



the severe anemia produced by this parasite is due to a toxin given 

 off by the tape worm and absorbed into the blood of the host.^ 



Although there are many parasitic flatworms to be found in 

 fishes, birds and mammals, there is little danger of contracting 

 disease if the meats are well cooked.^ 



A B 



Fig. 35//. Tapeworm head, cp, cirrus pouch; gp, genital pore; n, nerve; ov, 

 ovary; sg, shell gland; /, testicles; tc, transverse canal; ut, uterus; 0, vagina; vc, ventral 

 canal; vd, vas deferens; vg, yolk gland. X 20. (After DefFke, 1891, pi. i, fig. 3.) 

 {Coenurus cerebralis.) B. A segment. (Ranson. U. S. Dept. Ag., Bull. 66.) 



Remedies for Platyhelminth Infections. — While it has been 

 demonstrated that santonin and nicotin, in doses fatal to ascarids, 

 have little effect on the cestodes, we know that the tape worm, 

 Taenia, is more sensitive to Beta-naphthol than Ascaris. The oil of 

 " male fern " {Aspidium) and Chenopodium are specifics for tape 

 worm. They stupefy the animal, it releases its scolex, and then a 

 mild cathartic will remove the whole worm. 



* Vergeer, T. 1928. Dipkyllobothrium latum (Linn. 1758) the broad tapeworm 

 of man. Jour. Am. Med. Assoc, vol. 90, pp. 673-678. Also consult: Lyon, M. W., Jr. 

 1926. Native case of infestation by the fish tapeworm Diphyllobothrium latum. 

 Jour. Am. Med. Assoc, vol. 86, pp. 264-265. 



^Linton, Ed. 1912. Cestode cysts in the flesh of marine fish and their bearing 

 on food values. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc (References.) 



