PKOCEEDmGS OF SOCIETIES. 247 



seven years had tlius j)assecl without the parasite being discovered. 

 Kecently, however, he had received a letter from Prof. Fletcher, of 

 Indiana, describing this very animal ; and in a second communication 

 from that gentleman, he hazarded the opinion that this parasite was 

 the cause of the cholera, which had created such havoc in the pork- 

 producing parts of America within the last ten years. The special 

 interest attaching to this statement of Prof. Fletcher was, that in all 

 probability the parasite, though so large (the male being one inch, and 

 the female an inch and a half long), had been overlooked hitherto. 

 Now it so happened that in the communication from Mr. Morris, 

 which the Secretaries had placed in his (Dr. C.'s) hands, the oi^inion 

 was also given that Stephanurus was the cause of the mysterious disease 

 now rife in Australia. Pathologically, another point of interest was 

 that, whereas this parasite was found originally in the adipose tissue 

 of the hog, Prof. Fletcher has found it in all the organs of the body — 

 a statement which is in a measure borne out by the researches of Mr. 

 Morris, who had found that it was not confined to the fat alone. In a 

 third communication. Prof. Fletcher stated he had discovered the 

 parasite in the urine of the animals he had examined. It was there- 

 fore very reasonable to suppose that this worm had given rise to the 

 formidal3le disease referred to. In answering the question how it was 

 brought about, we might be guided by our knowledge of the structure 

 and development of Trichina ; and it was not difficult to jierceive that 

 Stephanurus must set up an enormous amount of irritation diu'ing its 

 migration thi'ough the tissues of the animal in which it had taken up 

 its residence. But whereas, in the case of Trichina, the parasite 

 migrated from loithont, and passed from the intestinal canal through 

 the connective tissues towards the muscles, thus causing death by the 

 small wound produced, Stephanurus did not, as far as is at present 

 known, thus migrate from without, but from within ; for, as Mr. Morris 

 states, he has found individual j)arasites singly, and not encysted, in 

 all parts of the fat. The most complete condition of the animal, how- 

 ever, was the encysted form. Dr. Cobbold then described the manner 

 in which the female parasite probably formed a cyst, depositing the 

 eggs in its interior ; the diseased symptoms being produced by the mi- 

 gration of the iJrogeny. He proceeded to say that as swine will eat 

 swine, it followed that a cyst existing in one pig coitld be swallowed 

 by another pig, and in that way the cyst could be taken into the intes- 

 tinal canal, and be the means of propagating disease. This singular 

 parasite, therefore, which had only once before been described, and 

 which was mentioned only in an old book, now tiu*ned out to be one 

 which would probably excite as much attention as Trichina, Further, 

 no one could say that this parasite may not eventually find its way 

 into our own bodies, for if we eat imderdone American pork we should 

 be liable to swallow the embryos, and they are just as likely to be 

 develoijed in the human body as some other parasites foimd in the 

 pigs. There was, however, this protection in the case of Stephanurus, 

 that the most ordinary care in inspecting the meat brought to our 

 tables would enable us to avoid swallowing any portion which contained 

 a cyst. Dr. Cobbold then expressed his thanks for the opportunity 



