PLASMODIUM MALARIJE. 631 



organism rarely occupies more than about one-third of 

 the corpuscle, the stroma of which is never entirely de- 

 colorized. On the contrary, it often presents a curious 

 brassy-green appearance, and looks shrunken or crum- 

 pled. The cycle of development of this form is rarely 

 carried out entirely in the circulating blood, but the 

 bodies with centrally placed pigment are not uncom- 

 mon. The observations of the Italian observers seem 

 to show conclusively that the segmentation takes place 

 in the spleen and in the bone-marrow and internal 

 organs. The length of its cycle of development has not 

 been determined. Probably different groups mature at 

 varying intervals of time, from twenty-four hours or 

 less to forty-eight or more (Welch). The fever associ- 

 ated with this organism is characterized by irregularity, 

 the paroxysms are not at definite periods, and the 

 pyrexia may be more or less continuous, with remissions. 

 This form is associated with the severer types of the 

 malaria seen in late summer and autumn the sestivo- 

 autumnal fevers of Cuba, Italy, etc. 



There are several other points of interest about the 

 parasites. A corpuscle containing a half -grown organism 

 may suddenly rupture; the haemoglobin diffuses, and 

 the pigmented parasite is set free. The parasite may 

 break up into two or three portions, perhaps from 

 pressure on the slide, and slight amoeboid changes may 

 be seen. In other instances, apparently from certain 

 free extra-corpuscular organisms, the remarkable flagel- 

 late form develops itself. The pigment becomes more 

 central, and the granules dance with great activity. 

 Suddenly, long, thread-like processes extend from the 

 body of the parasite and display remarkable move- 

 ments, thrashing about over the corpuscle with extra- 



