31 



The second form of active leucocytosis is that of an 

 increase of the coarsely granular eosinophil cells with a 

 polynucleus. It is termed an Eosinophilia. 



Last year I had the pleasure of showing this Society a 

 portion of the human diaphragm, studded with small opaque 

 bodies. These were formed of small worms, coiled up and 

 surrounded by a thickened capsule. The worm was the 

 immature form of the " trichina spiralis." 



The musculature of that man was dotted throughout with 

 these worms — which had probably been lying there for some 

 five years. 



Some weeks ago I had the opportunity of examining the 

 blood of a patient who was recovering from an attack of 

 trichinosis — the small worms were then all settling down for 

 their long quiet rest in his muscles. 



The blood showed a very marked eosinophilia of 24%. 



It is truly marvellous that the presence of these small 

 worms in the muscular tissue should be able to produce such a 

 specific change in the blood. 



Either the worms themselves or the inflamed muscles 

 produce a foreign body of some kind, which, when present in 

 the blood, acts specifically on the coarsely granular cells of the 

 marrow to the exclusion of the other form of cells. 



Eosinophilia is one of the most interesting of the forms of 

 leucocytosis. It occurs under the most varied conditions — 

 in bronchial asthma, in many skin diseases, in postfebrile 

 conditions, and, perhaps, most interesting of all, in patients 

 who have certain varieties of parasite in their intestinal canal, 

 such as the round and threadworms. 



Here the parasite is in reality outside of the body, and 

 yet this eosinophilia demonstrates conclusively that some 

 toxic substance is being produced by it and absorbed and 

 acting in a specific manner on the marrow. According to 

 Ehrlich the direct cause of most forms of eosinophilia seems 

 actually to lie in a destruction of tissue and the products thus 

 produced. 



