536 OCCUREENCE AND RESULTS OF CYSTICERCUS CELLULOSE. 



that by means of this weapon the worm may penetrate the intestine 

 of its host, and thus occasion injuries which may under certain circum- 

 stances cause ulceration, and similar pathological conditions. 



It is, however, only in its immediate effect on the intestine that 

 one T. solium is of less account than one T. saginata. But T. solium 

 very frequently occurs not solitary, but associated with several or even 

 with many companions, and this very materially alters the state of 

 the case, for not only is the irritation of the intestine and the loss of 

 nutritive juice increased, but the adjacent worms occasion frequent 

 movements by their mutual contact and pressure, and also roll them- 

 selves up into a ball. 



In estimating the clinical importance of T. solium, we have to do 

 not only with the troubles above referred to, but also with the fact 

 that the embryos may develop within the human body as well as 

 within the pig, and may thus, according to their position, occasion 

 diverse pathological states, aud may often endanger even the life of 

 their host. Since the bladder-worms of T. saginata have never been 

 found as yet in man, we must concede that, in spite of the probably 

 less intense intestinal irritation, T. solium is by far the more 

 dangerous species. The proglottides and eg^s voided by the patient 

 endanger not only his own health, but also that of his neighbours, so 

 that the removal of the unwelcome guest is a pressing necessity. It 

 would, indeed, be justifiable to have a sanitary law to the effect that 

 the worm should be at once expelled, for the host is a source of 

 danger to the community. 



2. The Bladder- Worm. 



Stich, " Ueber das Finnigsein lebender Menschen," A nnalen des ChariU-Krankenhauscs, 

 Jahrg. iv. f p. 154 : Berlin, 1853. 



Lewin, " Ueber Cysticercus cellulosse und sein Vorkommen in der Haut des Menschen," 

 Annalen des CkariM-Ki'ankenhauses, Jahrg. ii., p. 609 : Berlin, 1875. 



Davaine, "Trait6 des entozoaires, &c.," second edition, p. 667 : Paris, 1860. 



We have already noted (p. 511) that the disease caused by 

 bladder-worms has been known for centuries. Apparently, indeed, the 

 knowledge of these forms dates from remote prehistoric times, for the 

 first mention of the bladder-worms of the pig (in the " Knights " of 

 Aristophanes) refers to the then existing custom of examining the 

 tongue of the pig, in order to detect the presence of the so-called 

 ^aXafat (grandines). Under these circumstances, the supposition 

 seems not improbable that the prohibition of swine's flesh among Jews 

 and other Oriental peoples had for the most part reference to the 

 presence of bladder-worms. 



