PARASITIC AMGEBJE OF MAN. 



It is impossible at present to be sure of the exact 

 nature of this process, but it appears to me more 

 than probable that it is an instance of true conjuga- 

 tion. Such a process has been described as occurring 

 in Ealantidium coli and I have also observed it in 

 Entamceba tetragena. 



RELATION TO DISEASE. At the present time 

 almost all authorities are convinced that certain forms 

 of dysentery are due to amoebae, but there are still a 

 few students of the subject who maintain that the 

 amoebae are only secondary invaders. In support of 

 their position they claim that these organisms are 

 often found in the f eces of healthy individuals and of 

 those suffering from other diseases; that direct in- 

 fection with amoebae has never been proved; that de- 

 ductions based on experiments upon cats, monkeys, 

 and other animals are unsatisfactory, because such 

 animals suffer naturally from dysentery; that the 

 presence of amoebae in f eces is a natural condition, such 

 organisms being normal inhabitants of the intestines ; 

 and finally that the pathogenic amoebae have never 

 been cultivated. 



These arguments can all be satisfactorily answered 

 by the results of research accomplished during the 

 past seven years. We now know that the presence 

 of amoebae in healthy individuals and in those suffer- 

 ing from diseases other than dysentery is explained 



