CHAPTER XIII 

 INTESTINAL FLAGELLATES OF VERTEBRATES 



TECHNICAL SUGGESTIONS 



Where hospital facilities permit the examination of considerable 

 numbers of fresh stools, the species of intestinal flagellates infecting 

 man may be used for this study. The more dependable sources are 

 domesticated and laboratory animals. 



Frogs commonly harbor in the rectum and at the junction of the 

 large and small intestine Eutrichomastix batrachorum, Trichomonas 

 batrachorum, and Trichomonas augusta. Kofoid and Swezy found 

 the last-mentioned species abundantly in the salamander Diemyctylus 

 torosus as well as in Rana pipie?is, R. boylei, R. draytoni, and Hyla 

 regilla, at Berkeley. They kept specimens alive for several months by 

 diluting the intestinal smear with physiological salt solution and seal- 

 ing the cover glass with vaseline. Cultures of various Trichomonads 

 were made by placing a bit of the intestinal content in a hollow-ground 

 culture slide, filling the cavity with physiological salt solution, and 

 sealing the cover glass with vaseline. 



Laboratory white mice and rats are frequently infected with Trichom- 

 onas muris. Less frequently it is found in house and field mice. 

 Trichomonas cavim is occasionally harbored by guinea-pigs. 



An important source of material is the domestic chicken, whose 

 caeca may yield the four species: Chilomastix gallinarum, Trichom- 

 onas gallinarum, T. eberthi, and Eutrichomastix gallinarum. Becker, 

 1926, reports on seven species of flagellates from the striped ground 

 squirrel, Cilellus tridecemlineatus. 



Chilomastix species are reported from numerous other animals 

 including rabbits and rats. They are commonly present in human 

 dejections following the use of saline purgatives. 



Giardia lamblia is a widely prevalent species affecting man. It is 

 especially prevalent among young children, and the examination of 

 an institutional group is a ready method of obtaining cysts. Motile 

 and cystic stages of closely related species are very commonly found in 

 rats, mice, guinea-pigs, and various other mammals. An interesting 

 species is found in tadpoles. 



In addition to the material from various animals used in the 

 laboratory work, slides of Trichoitionas hominis, Chilomastix mesnili, 

 and Giardia lamblia should be available for demonstration. As oppor- 

 tunity presents, fecal material containing cysts of Chilomastix and 

 Giardia should be preserved in 10 per cent formalin for diagnosis. 



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