330 BACTERIA IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 



These parasites are described as being some- 

 what smaller than the leucocytes of the blood, 

 as sometimes resting and sometimes exhibiting 

 amoeboid movements, and as sometimes having 

 three or four long, motile filaments attached, 

 which are very difficult to see except when they 

 are in motion. They contain pigment granules, 

 commonly arranged in a circle. Richard states 

 that the malarial parasite of Laveran invades the 

 red blood-corpuscles, where it is first seen as a 

 minute round spot upon the circumference. In 

 other corpuscles it is larger, and about the margin 

 is seen a circle of black nodules. In others still 

 the parasite has reached such a size that only a 

 narrow, transparent zone remains between its 

 circumference and the cell-wall of the red corpus- 

 cle, and no trace of the haemoglobin remains. 

 The oscillaria is, however, still surrounded by a 

 ring of black nodules. The parasite now escapes 

 into the blood-serum. The motile filaments de- 

 scribed by Laveran are also referred to by Rich- 

 ard, who states that in some cases they alone 

 perforate the cell-wall of the red corpuscle, which 

 is moved about in a peculiar manner by their 

 oscillations. 



The presence of these parasites was demon- 

 strated in the blood of every case of malarial 

 fever observed by Richard, and frequently they 

 were very numerous. 



We shall not attempt to estimate the scientific 

 value of these observations, but would remark 



