124 THE HELMINTHES. ^ 116. 



§ 116. 



In the Aeanthocephali, the genital organs occupy a large portion of the 

 cavity of the body. They arise in the posterior portion, and are supported 

 by a Ligame7itum suspensoriu?n, which extends from this last to the base 

 of the proboscideal sheath. 



In the females, there are neither proper ovaries, nor an uterus ; but in 

 their place there are numerous oval, or round, flattened bodies of consider- 

 able size, which float freely in the licpid of the cavity of the body ; they 

 have nicely-defined borders, and are composed of a vesicular, granular 

 substance, and, as eggs are formed within them, they may be regarded as 

 so many loose ovaries/^' 



When the eggs have reached a certain size, they fall from the ovaries 

 into the cavity of the body. At this time they are ovo-elongate, have 

 only a single envelope, and contain both a vesicular and a finely-granular 

 substance, but no trace of a germinative vesicle. They continue to in- 

 crease in size, and two new envelopes are formed about them.*-* The 

 muscular canal which passes off" from the simple vulva which is situated at 

 the posterior part of the body, may be regai-ded as a uterus. 



At the point where it is attached to the Ligamentiim suspemorium, it 

 becomes a campanulate or infundibuliforra organ, whose borders float freely 

 in the cavity of the body, and thus the whole is comparable to a Tuba Fal- 

 lopii. The bottom of this bell-shaped organ communicates with the 

 superior extremity of the uterus by a narrow, valvular opening, which 

 presents a lateral, semilunar fissure. 



This whole organ is endowed with very active peristaltic motions, by 

 which the loose contents of the cavity of the body are absorbed ; and while 

 the lai'ger ovaries are thrown out, the little immature eggs are returned into 

 the cavity of the body by the lateral fissure, — the more mature ones only, 

 reaching the uterus.''* This uterus, which is of variable length, opens 

 outwardly through a very short and narrow vagina. 



The males of Eddnorhytichiis have usually two oval or elongated testi- 

 cles, one before th(? other, and attached to the Ligamentuni suspensormm. 



of Taenia cucumerina {Creplin, Observ. de 2 The long eggs of many Echinorliyjichi are 



Entozois fig. 12, 13) and crateriformis, have the formed by the same process. They are all colorless, 



remarkable arrangement of being grouped in tens and may be distinguished by the peculiar aspect 



to twenties, and each group is surrounded by a of their middle envelope which at both extremities 



gelatinous envelope.* is constricted like a neck. But those of Echino- 



1 The ovaries of Echinorynchus were formerly rhynchus gi^as form an exception ; for they are 



taken both for mature eggs, and for cotyledons; shorter and oval, their middle envelope is yellowish, 



and to this is due the very inaccurate figures of and, like the two others, has externally numberless 



lhe\n hy IVestrumb uni Cloquet (\oc. at.). Du- small obtuse spines. VfithEchinorhynchus stru- 



jardin, however (Mist. d. llulm. PI. VII. fig. D. mosus, hystrix, ang-ustalus, and proteus, the 



6), perceived their true nature. external envelope of the eggs presents the peculiar 



A state of development wliich I have observed phenomenon that when pressed between two plates 



with many females of Echinorhynchus gibl/osus, of glass, it separates into very fine fil)rillae. 



would appear to throw some light upon the ques- 3 The nature of this carapaimlate TuOa Fallopii 



tion as to the part of the body where the ovaries has been wholly mistaken by Bojanus, fVestrumb 



are first formed. VLerethe LigamentuTn suspen- and Cloquet. Buroiv (Echinorhynchi strumosi 



soriu7n had, over most of its extent, large granu- Anat. p. 22, fig. 1. g, fig. 6) was the first to 



lar globules, while the cavity of the body contained describe it, without however conveying the correct 



neither ovaries nor eggs. I think, therefore, that idea. See my description (Biirdaclt\^ Physiol, 



this ligament is the elementary material from which loc. cit. p. 197), which has been confirmed since 



the ovaries are developed under the form of glob- by Dujardin (Hist. d. Helm. p. 495, PI. VII. fig. 



ules, which, being subsequently detached, continue D. 5). 

 their development in the liquid of the cavity of the 

 body. 



* [§ 115, note 2?.] See Kan Beriedcn (loc. cit. composed like those other animals, — withagermin- 

 p. 67), who has observed the eggs of the Cestodes ative vesicle, &c. — Ed. 



