8 



latter requires much more carefully considered measures 

 than the complaint due to the round worm (Ascaris lumbric- 

 oides) , which ranks after the threadworm in frequency. Lastly, 

 GALEN confirms the virtues of the Calamintha, praised by 

 DIOSCORIDES, for expelling the helminths. 



Mediaeval Authors. 



References to the threadworm disease may further be 

 found in almost all works which have been handed down to us 

 from medical writers of the Middle Ages, but nothing of 

 special value is to be learned from them. The majority con- 

 tented themselves with repeating the teachings of GALEN and, 

 incidentally, the observations of HIPPOCRATES and DIO- 

 SCORIDES ; for it must be remembered that, during this period, 

 GALEN was almost venerated by the medical faculty, and no 

 one ventured to question his authority on any point 1 , however 

 trifling. In consequence, no more progress was made in this 

 field of medicine than in any other 2 . 



Oribasius and others. 



In this superficial way, ORIBASIUS, who acted as Court 

 Physician in Rome about A.D. 400, speaks of the malady 

 associated with the threadworm. Similarly, JETius and 

 ALEXANDER OF TRALLES, who both wrote in the 6th century, 

 had most quaint notions of the disease. PATJLUS ^EGINETA 

 and THEOPHANES NONNUS record the opinions prevalent in 

 the 7th century. Five hundred years afterwards, the writings 

 of MICHAEL PSELLUS show that in this interval medicine had 

 remained absolutely stationary. JOHANNES ACTUARIUS, who 



1 Paracelsus, in his strictures on 2 The following may be read as 



the followers of Galen, refers a fair specimen of 17th century 



specifically to their neglect of medical writings on the subject : 



worm diseases : " Proposui de " They may have their origination 



quibusdam tractare simplicibus, et in us by contagion, from certain 



praesertim de quibusdam animal- animated effluviums, or vermicu- 



ibus, et morbis ad quos pertinent, lar atome-like Corpuscles or Fer- 



quorum nullus medicus ante me ments, which flow out of gross, 



fecit mentionem hactenus, puto corrupted bodies, and fly through 



quod ignorarint, aut si forte the Air, whereby they are com- 



noverint, ea contempserunt sic municated to bodies capable of, 



ut in oblivionem transierint." and fitted to receive such impres- 



(PARACELSTTS, A. P. T., Liber sions." (RAMESEY, N., Some 



de vermibus, Miinchen, 1570, p. Physical Considerations of . . . 



409.) Wormes, London, 1008, p. 9.) 



