MICROSCOPIC ORGANISMS IN INTESTINAL CANAL, 235 
fore free from the source of fallacy, at all events, however much 
they may be affected by errors of interpretation. 
The discovery of the occurrence of monad forms in choleraic 
and other excreta dates many years back. Davaine appears to 
have been the first to observe them. In the year 1854 he 
published an account of his observations regarding their presence 
in choleraic excreta during the epidemic of 1853, 1854.1 He 
states that he encountered them in many cases and frequently in 
very great abundance, and he records the occurrence of what he 
regarded as a smaller variety of the same organism in typhoid 
excreta. Subsequently Lambl described and figured similar 
bodies present in the gelatinous mucoid discharges occurring in 
cases of diarrhoea in children,” and Ekeckrantz recorded their 
occurrence in cases of diarrhea. In the year 1870 Dr. Timothy 
Lewis published his observations on the occurrence of monads 
and ambeeboid organisms in choleraic and other excreta,* and 
Tham recorded the occurrence of monads in chronic diarrhea.® 
In the following year an account of my own observations on the 
same subject was published, in which various forms of monad 
aud amceboid forms were described.6 In 1875 Marchand 
recorded the occurrence of monads in a case of typhoid fever,’ 
and, in 1878, Zunker described two forms as occurring in ‘severe 
cases of intestinal disease.® 
The question next presents itself, whether all the observations 
refer to one specific organism, or whether more than one species 
is referred to. Leuckart, in the recently published - edition of 
his work on ‘ Human Parasites,’ believes that the latter is the 
case, and, while referring the organisms described in most cases 
to the genus Cercomonas, distinguishes those described by 
Marchand, and certain of those recorded by Zunker as belonging 
to the genus Trichomonas. As the result of prolonged observa- 
tion of the varying forms which the organisms occurring in 
excreta in this country present, I must confess that I am inclined 
to believe in the specific identity of the parasite in all the 
recorded cases. 
1 “Compt. rend. Soc. Biolog ,” 1854. 
5 aoe Vierteljabrsscarift fiir praktische Heilkunde,’ 1859, Bd. 61, 
3 “ Bidrag till kanndomen om de i menniskans tarmkanal forekommande 
Infusorier :”’ ‘ Nordisk med. Arkiv,’ Bd. I. 
4 Appendix A. ‘Sixth Annual Report of the Sanitary Commissioner 
with the Government of India,’ Calcutta, 1870. 
occa fall af Cercomonas, Upsala lakare foéren. forhandl.,’? Bd. v, 
nae Appendix B. ‘Seventh Annual Report of the Sanitary Commissioner 
with the Government of India,’ Calcutta, 1870. 
7 “Archiv fiir pathol. Anatomie,’ 1875, Bd. 64, S. 294. 
8 «Zeitschrift fir practische Medicin,’ 1878, No. 1, 8.1 
