132 



BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. 



penis is very slender. The female has a nearly straight, 

 obtuse tail ; the anus is triangular, near the end ; the genital 

 orifice is anterior, near the mouth ; the ovaries and oviducts 

 are simple, but long and convoluted. The intestine is large 

 and blackish, with thin walls, and quite simple, running 

 directly from one end of the body to the other, and is attached 

 to the sides of the body, along its whole length, by fibres. 



Habits. 



This formidable parasite lives in the kidneys of man and 

 various animals. It has been found in the dog, horse, cattle, 

 hog, wolf, \veasles, mink, otter, seal, glutton, raccoon, and coati. 

 In this country it has been found quite frequently in the kid- 

 Figure si. 



neys of the mink. It has been found very rarely in the blad- 

 der, in the abdominal cavity, and, it is said, in the heart. In 

 man it is very rare. When lodged in the kidney it gradually, 

 but completely, destroys the substance of the organ, which 

 becomes filled with purulent and bloody matter, upon which 

 the worm feeds, while the walls often become hardened with 

 calcareous deposits. The effects and symptoms are the same 

 as in other acute diseases or abscesses in one of the kidneys. 

 The only positive evidence of the presence of the worm would 

 be the discovery of the eggs in the urine. It is probable that 

 no remedy can be applied when the parasite is once lodged in 

 the kidney. 



The history of this worm is not fully known. According 

 to Leuckart, a slender worm found coiled up in cysts in 

 the muscles and peritoneum of fishes is the young or larva of 

 some species of Eustrongylus. The larval form referred to 



Figure 81. Eustrongylus gigas, male, less than natural size; a, spiculum and 

 bursa ; 6, anus of female, enlarged. From Guerin. 



