CHAPTER XI 

 THE AMCEBjE OF MAN 

 TECHNICAL SUGGESTIONS 



On account of the difficulty of obtaining living material illustrating 

 the endomccb£e of man, and the necessity of using oil immersion lenses 

 for the study of details, a survey course such as this must rely chiefly 

 on demonstrations. Fortunately, well-prepared slides stained in iron 

 hamiatoxylin are now available through several of the biological supply 

 houses listed in the Appendix. 



Through such sources, if not through some hospital clinic, it is 

 usually possible to obtain fecal material in formalin, containing 

 trophozoites and cysts of Endamceba histolytica and Endamcebce coli. 

 By adding a drop of iodine solution to the slide, much may be gained 

 from the study of this material under the high power dry lens. 



For study of Endatnoeba histolytica in the tissues, the most favorable 

 materials are sections through the rectum of experimentally infected 

 kittens. Such preparations are offered by several of the supply 

 houses listed. For aid in the laboratory examination a blackboard 

 sketch or chart showing the structure of the normal organ should be 

 before the student. 



In most sections of the country rats and mice and, to a less extent, 

 frogs, are infected with intestinal amoebae very similar to E. histolytica. 

 Our large native cockroach, Periplaneta americana, frequently harbors 

 Endamoeba blattm, the type of the genus. These species can be used 

 to advantage for the study of motile stages. While it is assumed 

 that the student has made a careful study of living specimens of non- 

 parasitic amcebae in his course in general zoology, it is nevertheless 

 well to review this material. 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RHIZOPODA 



Within recent years it has become known that some of the 

 most devastating diseases of man and animals are due to Proto- 

 zoa. All of the classes of the phylum contribute important 

 illustrations of parasitic forms. They inhabit organs, tissues, 

 and cells, and even the nuclei of cells of their various hosts. 



The phylum is usually divided on the basis of the development 

 of locomotary organelles into four classes: the Rhizopoda, the 

 Mastigophora, the Infusoria, and the Sporozoa. Many students 

 of animal parasitology include as a fifth class the Spirochseta, 



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