92 AMOEBAE LIVING IN MAN 



body of evidence on this question which it will be unnecessary to discuss 

 here. See especially Wenyon and O'Connor (1917), Dobell (1916, 1917), 

 Dobell, Gettings, Jepps, and Stephens (191 8), etc. 



(3) ENTAMOEBA GINGIVALIS (GROS, 1849) BRUMPT, 1913. 



" Amoebea gengivalis" Gros, 1849. 



Amiba biiccalis Steinberg, 1862, 



Amoeba dentalis Grassi, 1879. 



Amoeba kartitlisi Doflein, 1901. 



Entamoeba buccalis Prowazek, 1904. 



Entamoeba maxillaris Kartulis, 1906. 



? Amoeba Pyogenes Verdun & Bruyant, 1907. 



Amoeba gingh>alis (Gros) Brumpt, 1910. 



Entamoeba kartnUsi Doflein, 191 1. 



? Entamoeba pnlmoual is Brumpt, 1913 («^c Artault, 1898). 



Endameba bnccalis Bass & Johns, 1915. 



Endameba gingivalis (Gros) Smith & Barrett, 1915. 



Endamoeba gui^ivalis (Gros) Smith & Barrett, 1915. 



Endameba gengivalis [Gi-os] Lynch, 1915. 



Endamoeba gingivalis {bnccalis) Craig, 1916, 



" Endamoeba gingival is (Gros emend. Prowazek)" Craig, 1916. 



? Endamoeba confusa Craig, 1916. 



" Endamoeba Gros " Hecker, 1916. 



History and Nomenclature. 



The amoeba of the human mouth is of historic interest because 

 it is probably the first parasitic amoeba discovered — not only in man, but 

 in any animal. Like the dysentery amoeba, it was discovered in Russia. 

 Its discoverer, Gros (1849), found it in the tartar on the internal surface 

 of the teeth. His description is very brief, but his figures are recognizable. 

 He named the organism "Amoebea gengivalis" — apparently intended 

 for Amoeba gingivalis — and suggested that it might be spontaneously 

 generated in the human mouth. 



Some years later Steinberg (1862), also in Russia, found apparently the 

 same organism, and named liAmibabnccalis* Grassi (1879^2) subsequently 

 observed amoebae in the human mouth, and called them Amoeba dentalis, 

 noting that they were possibly identical with Steinberg's forms. A few 

 years afterwards, however, he expressed doubts as to whether the things 

 which he studied really were amoebae or simply cells (Grassi, 1882, 

 1883). 



Flexner (1892) and Kartulis (1893) found amoebae in the pus from 

 maxillary abscesses. Kartulis found them in an abscess of the lower 

 jaw of an Arab in Egypt. They were described and figured by him, but 

 not named ; though he threw out the suggestion that they might be the 



* The original paper by Steinberg — sometimes cited as Sternberg— I have not been 

 able to consult. A translation of the part dealing with the amoeba of the mouth is given 

 by Smith and Barrett (191 5), to whom I am indebted for my information concerning 

 Steinberg's observations. 



