30() ilUMAX IXTESTIXAL PARASITES OF MOrAMKiyUE. 



BaUuiiidiuiii coli 



l^cliistotioina liacinatobiuin . . . 

 TricJiODionus intcstinalia ... 

 Undetermined eggs 



Naturally, these statistics were not made among the general 

 population of the town, but refer to individuals for whom faecal 

 examinations were requested, because of intestinal disturbances. 



Besides the various and complex parasitic associations, 1 

 have recorded the following details, which are more interesting 

 to my mind : — 



(a) The rarity of rhabditiform larvae unassociated with ova 

 of Ancylostoma. As regards the rhabditiform larva, seeing that 

 the delay or interval between the jDassing of the dejection and 

 its diagnosis is unknown, it becomes' difficult, by simple exami- 

 nation, to ascribe them to Ancylostoma or even to Sfrongyloidca 

 stcrcoralis. 



The simultaneous presence of ova of Ancylostoma and of 

 rhabditiform larvae would suggest sometimes that they are 

 phases of the same parasite. On every occasion, how-ever, when 

 rhabditiform larvae appeared, I made cultures from the dejections, 

 and in less than 48 hours, at the temperature of the laboratory, 

 I found the typical sexual forms of Sirongyloidcs stcrcoralis. 



As the larvae are actively motile, which renders difficult the 

 observation of the small and more characteristic details, I always 

 employed, as for Lamblia, Trichomonas, Balantidium, etc., with 

 great advantage the simple process of Brumpt of examining the 

 faecal matter in a drop of saliva placed between the slide and 

 cover slip, which, by almost paralysing the activity of the 

 parasites, greatly facilitates the examination. For examining 

 Ciliates and Flagellates, I found nothing better than the Burri 

 method by means of India ink, or microscopical observation under 

 dark ground illumination. 



(b) In the urines, ova of Schistoso))ia liaoiiafobium appear 

 with relative frequency. I only found them twice in the dejec- 

 tions. I immediately asked for new samples of the dejections and 

 of the vn-ine, separately, from the same patient, in order to 

 ascertain whether they really belonged to the faeces or to urines 

 which might have been mixed accidentally with the dejections 

 at the moment of evacuation. Even among civilised persons 

 one knows what precautions are necessary in order to defaecate 

 without simultaneously urinating, and so one can easily vmder- 

 stand that, where raw natives are concerned, one must even 

 more suspect that the faecal matter may be mixed with lu-ine. 



On first impressions, it seems an easy condition to satisfy. 

 But T can assert that, notwithstanding that I have been con- 

 stantly asking the medical practitioners to endeavour tliat their 

 clients send to the laboratory faeces vmmixed with urine, it is 

 not uncommon to receive them diluted with urine, with 7?»/n)H0f/)rt 

 hisin]]iiha and other cellulai' (dements in advanced cytolysis. not 

 only to the prejudice of the diagnosis of dysentery, but causing 

 us to ascribe to the dejections what in i-eality got tliere in the 

 urine. 



