386 Journal of Agricultural Research voi. xxii. nos 



yield to symptomatic treatment and which was cured only after removing several 

 ascarids. 



The view that Ascaris secretions contain hemotoxins was first advanced by Schim- 

 melpfennig {1902), who found that in the presence of the coelomic fluid of Ascaris 

 equorum red blood corpuscles of the horse became crenated and were ultimately 

 destroyed. Schimmelpfennig furthermore discovered oxyhemoglobin in the coelomic 

 fluid of the parasite , a fact which led him to regard this worm as a bloodsucker. Wein- 

 berg {1907), Whipple (1Q09), and Alcssandrini (191 3) failed to observe any toxic 

 efi'ect of salt-solution extracts of species of Ascaris on red blood cells. Flury (1912), 

 on the other hand, records the presence of strong hemolysins in the coelomic fluid of 

 species of Ascaris. Flury ascribes the hemolytic action of Ascaris secretions to free 

 fatty acids, of which oleic acid is the most active principle. In the course of his 

 studies on the pharmacology of salt-solution extracts of worms of the genus Ascaris, 

 Brinda (1914) found that injection of the extracts into guinea pigs brings about a 

 reduction in the number of erythrocytes and a diminution in the hemoglobin content 

 of the blood. Recently Shimamura and Fujii {1917), in the course of their investiga- 

 tions on "askaron," a toxic constituent of worms of the genus Ascaris, state that 

 ether-soluble and alcohol-soluble fractions of Ascaris material contain a hemolytic 

 agent. The present writer (Schwartz, 1919), in a preliminary paper on the hemolytic 

 effects of Ascaris extracts, has briefly described the properties of the hemolysin. 



A number of investigators have found, moreover, that the coelomic fluid of worms 

 belonging to the genus Ascaris contains a substance that inhibits the coagulation of 

 blood. Weil and Boye {1910) found that as a result of injecting the fluid of Ascaris 

 equorum into rabbits the blood of the latter when drawn remains uncoagulated for 20 

 minutes longer than blood from a normal rabbit. Experiments with rabbit blood and 

 Ascaris fluid in vitro yielded negative results, according to these investigators. Leroy 

 {1910) likewise observed that the blood of dogs which had been injected with the body 

 fluid of A. equorum coagulated more slowly than blood from normal dogs. Flury 

 {1912) observed that Ascaris fluid delayed the coagulation of dog blood and of human 

 blood in vitro. That Loeb and Smith {1904) failed to observe anticoagulins in extracts 

 of dog ascarids that are active in vitro has already been mentioned. 



Worms belonging to the genus Strongylus (frequently referred to as Sclerostomum) 

 are parasitic in the large intestine of horses. These nematodes attack the mucosa, to 

 which they may be found adhering by means of their buccal capsule. In view of the 

 fact that these parasites somewhat resemble hookworms in their attacks on the intes- 

 tinal mucosa and in the effects which they produce on the host, Weinberg (1907) 

 investigated their hemotoxic .secretions primarily with a view of throwing light on the 

 causes of anemia due to hookworms. This investigator found that physiological salt- 

 solution extracts of freshly collected vStrongylus material dissolves erythrocytes of 

 horses, cattle, sheep, rabbits, and guinea pigs. The parasites secrete, therefore, a 

 nonspecific hemolysin. Weinberg determined that the hemolysin is thermostabile, 

 resisting heat at a temperature of 115° to 120° C. for 15 to 20 minutes. In addition to 

 the hemolysin, Weinberg found that these parasites secrete a substance which inhibits 

 the coagulation of horse blood in vitro. He also found that salt-solution extracts of 

 worms of the genus Strongylus contain a substance which when brought in contact 

 with the blood serum of the horse causes the formation of a precipitate. The precipi- 

 tin, too, is nonspecific in its action, since it was found by Weinberg that it produces a 

 precipitate when added to rabbit-blood serum. 



Bondouy {1908, 1910) studied the chemical composition of worms belonging to the 

 genus Strongylus, with special reference to their hemolytic constituents, and con- 

 firmed in the main the results obtained by Weinberg as regards the presence of a soluble 

 hemolysin in these parasites. The new facts discovered by Bondouy may be briefly 

 summarized as follows: The parasite contains soaps and free fatty acids which exert a 

 destructive effect on red blood cells in vitro. Bondouy states, however, that the 



