154 



THE AMERICAN MONTHLY 



[June, 



transversal septa characteristic of the Oscillarias, to which, I sup- 

 pose, this parasite is claimed to belong. Therefore, I am inclined 

 to claim for Spirilina a form near to Leptothrix, or to cells belong- 

 ing to the mycelium of a hyphomycetous fungus. There is no 

 doubt that these spiral, long, curved cells are of vegetable origin." 



Trichinte Spiralis. 



By W. N. SHERMAN, M. D., 



MERCED, CAL. 



A knowledge of the Trichinae spiralis, and of the symptoms it 

 produces in the human body, is very necessary to the physician, 

 and public instruction concerning its character and habits would 

 enable others to avoid it. 



Instances of their presence in the human body are not uncom- 

 mon, and they are often overlooked ; the symptoms produced by 

 them being mistaken for enteric fever or rheumatism. As it 

 exists only in flesh-eating animals, we need have no fear of its 

 existence in other food than meat, although it has been asserted 

 that an infected carcass might pollute the water of a stream 

 near by and reproduce the disease through drinking the water. 

 This is not very probable, however. Spiralis is suggestive 

 of its spiral shape, which is beautifully illustrated in figure i, 



showing the worm as 

 it appears coiled with- 

 in its capsule. Other- 

 wise, this parasite 

 worm is not unlike a 

 common earth-worm, 

 except in its micro- 

 scopic dimensions. 

 While they do not at 

 all times assume so 

 perfect a spiral shape 

 as shown here, their 

 tendency is to that 

 shape; hence their 

 name "• spiralis." 



In sections of in- 

 fected meat it is fre- 

 quently seen coiled 

 within a protecting 



„ . . „ eu75 i_ /-c^:, 



diameters. From a double-stained section of human flesh 



it occupies, in an inert 

 condition, until a favorable opportunity occurs for reproduction 

 and migration. 



In its mature state the trichinae spiralis is an extremely minute 



Fig. 1— Photomicrograph of Trichinse spjralis mangified 75 ^j^pg^Jg (Fig. l) which 



