1884.] natural sciences of philadelphia. 137 



May 6. 



The President, Dr. Leidy, in the chair. 

 Sixteen persons present. 



A Bare Human Tapeworm. — Dr. Leidy directed attention to 

 some little tapeworms, which had recently been submitted to his 

 examination by Prof. William Pepper. They were expelled, by 

 the use of santonin, from a child of three years. The specimens, 

 consisting of a dozen fragments, appear to be portions of three 

 worms, which reached a length of from twelve to fifteen inches, 

 or more. Unfortunately the head is lost. The joints or proglot- 

 tides are more than several times the breadth of the length. In 

 a specimen of thirteen inches, comprising nearly a complete 

 worm, the joints of the anterior attenuated extremity are about 

 the one-fifth of a millimetre long by nearly two-thirds of a milli- 

 metre wide, while the posterior joints are half a millimetre long 

 and two and a quarter milli-iietres wide. Ripe joints at the 

 posterior part of the body are pale brown, the color being due to 

 the eggs. These occupy a simple uterus defined by the walls of 

 the joints, and not divided into pouches diverging laterally from 

 a main stem as is usual in most taeniae. A singular feature of 

 the worm is the interruption of the series of ripe joints, here and 

 there, by one or more completely sterile ones. The generative 

 apertures open in the usual wa}^ on the lateral margin of one 

 side. The mature eggs are spherical, measure 0"072 mm. 

 diameter, and contain, fully developed, six hooked embryos. 



While differing greatly from the ordinary tapeworms infesting 

 man, they approximate nearlj^ the description of Tsenise fiavo- 

 punctata, and probably pertain to this species. This has been 

 but once previously observed, and was described in 1858 bv Dr. 

 Weinland (An Essay on Tapeworms of Man^, from specimens in 

 the Museum of the Medical Improvement Society of Boston. 

 These were also discharged by a child. The worm was estimated 

 to be from eight to twelve inches. The joints were marked by a 

 yellow spot, from which the species was named. The eggs 

 measure from 0-054 to 0*06 mm. 



Our specimens indicate a worm almost the same size as the T. 

 Jlavopunctata^ but the joints are shorter and wider, and exhibit 

 no yellow spot, and the eggs are larger. In other characters the 

 worms sufficiently accord to render it probable that they may 

 pertain to the same species. It is probable that the worm is 

 more common than would be su|)posed from the instances of its 

 observation, and has perhaps escaped notice from its small size, 

 and from the general ignorance of the distinction, not only of 

 this, but of the ordinary species of tapeworms. 



A more complete account of the subject of this communication 

 will, shortly appear in the American Journal of Medical Sciences. 

 10 



