OF THE HUMAN BODY. 49 



I'oiind, filiform worm, fine an«l slender at both ends, 

 from four or five lines to an inch in length. The 

 vivacity with which it moves, skips and bounds, is 

 singular. If touched with a finger, or brought 

 near the flame of a candle, its boily contracts some 

 lines in a surprising manner. It is perhaps to this 

 contractility that we are to attribute those enormous 

 irritations of the intestines, and particularly of the 

 anus, which torment the sick, especially children^ 

 who are most subject to them. 



The surface of this worm is full of wrinkles^ 

 which seem to be formed by a multitude of rings. 

 Its anterior extremity is obtuse, its posterior end;, 

 or tail, is shiny and slender. 



^ XXXVII. This worm resides in the large 

 intestines, commonly in the cavernous cells of the 

 colon and rectum. Widf discovered an infinite 

 number of them in a small sack between the coats 

 of the stomach. (I73) 



I remember to have found several masses of 

 ascarides vermiculares in the oesophagus of a 

 woman, who died of a slow nervous fever. This 

 worm is often found in the vagina of women. 



It is remarkable that the ascaris vermicularis 

 is never found alone, but in congjlobate masses of 

 other worms of the same genus. It may be said 

 tiiat they love to dwell in groups. 



§ XXXVI 11. This worm lives longer than 

 any other in the human body ; it can exist an al- 

 most incredible space of time. Fabricius re- 

 7 



