GYSTICER €] 
IN WILD RUMINANTS. 
By Wa RELDEBLAIR, Dives: 
HILE the tapeworm in its adult state has been rarely met 
with among our wild ruminants, its embryo or cystic 
stage has been of frequent occurrence, causing death in at least 
two instances. 
No parasite with which we deal has a more interesting life 
history than the tapeworm, occupying as it does the attention 
of the practitioner of human medicine as well as the veterinarian. 
A remarkable fact in connection with the life history of the 
tapeworm is that the eggs will not develop into mature worms 
in the body of an animal belonging to the species of the one in 
which they were produced. It is necessary that they should first 
enter the body of an animal of a different species and there de- 
velop into embryos, and there they remain in a somewhat ad- 
vanced state of development until their host dies and is con- 
sumed by an animal belonging to the species of the original host. 
They must have a host or bearer and intermediate bearer. In 
a great majority of cases man and dogs act as hosts, while cattle, 
pigs, sheep, and deer act as the intermediate bearers. 
The anterior part of the tapeworm is narrow, and presents a 
terminal swelling by which it attaches itself to the mucous mem- 
brane of the intestines by means of the suckers and numerous 
hooklets which nearly all tapeworms possess. This anterior 
swollen part is distinguished as the scolex, popularly called the 
head of the tapeworm, but it is mainly its external form which 
entitles it to this name, as there is no alimentary system. The 
parasite floating in the digested food of its host absorbs soluble 
material by its general surface. There is neither vascular nor 
respiratory system, and the body cavity is represented merely by 
irregular spaces. All tapeworms are hermaphrodite, and most— 
if not all—are probably self-fertilizing. 
Following the scolex are the segments or proglottides, of which 
the tapeworm is made up and budded off from the head end, and 
