42 PROTOZOAN PARASITISM 



at this time to encourage the performance of a simple 

 procedure which will suffice in a practical way in the 

 practice of medicine and will at least vastly improve 

 upon present practices and conditions. 



For this purpose it is desired to summarize the 

 following procedure for a routine : 



1. When a formed stool is up for examination, as 

 it commonly is, make slide preparations with salt 

 solution from various portions and look for motile 

 and encysted forms. If motile forms are found 

 search for the cysts. Search for cysts with slide 

 preparations in the iodine solution. When found 

 count the nuclei by fine adjustment manipulation of 

 the high dry lens. If there are four characteristic 

 nuclei report it Endamoeba histolytica. If only ac- 

 tive forms are present, so report them and ask for 

 continued stool examination until the cysts are found. 



2. When a diarrhoeal stool is up for examination, 

 look also for the cysts. Usually they will not be 

 found. If there is an actively traveling amoeba 

 which does not contain large vacuoles with bacteria 

 and other foreign objects, but some contain red blood 

 corpuscles, with clear ectoplasm and pseudopodia, 

 and granular endoplasm, report it as a motile amoeba, 

 possibly Endavioeha histolytica, and ask for con- 

 tinued stool examination for cysts. 



As a routine practice, except in case of diarrhoea, 

 ask for stools produced by saline purgative, not oil, 

 and search for motile forms and cysts. If only motile 



