LEISHMANIA TROPICA 425 



(1911) proposed the name Leishmania brasiliensis for the American form, 

 on account of a filament lie had observed in the parasites. This is un- 

 doubtedly the axoneme which is often demonstrable in L. tropica of the 

 Old World. Escomel (1911, 1913a, 1914) noted elongate forms of the 

 parasite provided with short flagella. He again (1922) refers to them, 

 and gives a figure showing typical leptomonas. Accordingly, he pro- 

 posed to name the organism L. americana var. flagellata. Rebagliati 

 (1914) and Monge (1914) also claim to have observed flagellate forms of 

 leishmania in the South American ulcers. La Cava (1912) has recorded 

 similar forms in infections of L. tropica in Italy. Laveran and Nattan- 

 Larrier (1912a) observed unusually large forms of the parasite in smears 

 from a South American sore. There was a large central vacuole, and the 

 nucleus was flattened out against one side of the parasite. On account 

 of these peculiarities, they suggested the name L. tropica var. americana 

 for the parasite. Exactly similar forms, however, are met with in the 

 L. tropica of the East. Velez (1913), who discovered the disease in Peru, 

 proposed to name the local parasite L. peruviana. It is evident that, of 

 the various names proposed for the South American parasite, L. brasili- 

 ensis has priority over the others. No one, however, has been able to 

 establish any morphological difference between this parasite and L. tropica, 

 either as it occurs in the tissues or in cultures. The organisms cannot be 

 distinguished from L. tropica except by the serological tests devised by 

 Noguchi as described above (p. 399). Thomson and Balfour (1910) described 

 a curious type of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Sudan, in which the 

 lesions were nodular and showed no tendency to ulceration. Here, again, 

 the organism was morphologically indistinguishable from L. tropica, but 

 Brumpt (1913c), regarding the disease as distinct from oriental sore, 

 proposed to name the parasite L. nilotica. 



It seems better to retain the name L. tropica for both forms till 

 more reliable proof of specific difference is forthcoming. On the other 

 hand, the close resemblance of L. tropica to L. donovani led to Manson's 

 suggestion that oriental sore is a local manifestation of an infection with 

 the same organism that causes kala azar in much the same way as vaccinia 

 may be supposed to be a local manifestation of smallpox. In this con- 

 nection it is of interest to note that Nicolle and Manceaux (1910a) found 

 that in experimental monkeys and dogs an animal recovered from oriental 

 sore was immune to this disease but not to kala azar, while one re- 

 covered from kala azar was immune to both. Patton (1922) records an 

 instance of a patient who contracted kala azar after having recovered 

 from oriental sore. Laveran's experiments with mice show that they 

 react differently to L. tropica and L. donovani. Furthermore, the dis- 

 tribution of the diseases is against the view of the identity of the two 



