16 PARASITES OF MAN 



to furnish full descriptions of the commoner kinds of par&sfte, 

 I could adduce numerous instances that have been brought 

 under my notice where professional men and others have been 

 entirely mistaken as to the essential nature of their parasitic 

 finds. Thus, I have known an instance where a great authority 

 on the diseases of dogs has persisted in asserting for the free 

 proglottides of a tapeworm a nematode origin ; and, in like 

 manner, human tapeworm-segments have frequently been 

 mistaken for independent fluke parasites. One of the most 

 remarkable instances of this kind is that which I have else- 

 where described as an error on the part of Dr Chabert. My 

 reasons for so regarding his interpretation of the facts observed 

 by him stand as follows : 



In the f Boston Medical and Surgical Journal ' for the years 

 1852-53-54, Dr J. X. Chabert described several cases of Taenia, 

 and he averred that the tapeworms were associated with 

 numerous specimens of Distoma hepaticum. The passage of dis- 

 tomes by patients during life was even regarded by Dr Chabert 

 as indicative of the presence of Taenia within the intestines. 

 Surely, I remarked, Dr Chabert was mistaken. Are not these 

 so-called distomes the well-known proglottides ? Not willingly 

 doubting Dr Chabert's statements, but desirous, if possible, of 

 verifying the accuracy of his conclusions, I wrote to him (March 

 22nd, 1864) requesting the loan of a specimen, but I was 

 not fortunate enough to receive a reply. In the " Case of 

 Taenia " in a boy four and a half years old, given in the 49th 

 vol. of the journal, Dr Chabert writes as follows : " In con- 

 sequence of his passing the Distoma hepaticum, I concluded he 

 must be afflicted with Taenia." Further on it is added, that 

 the administration of an astringent injection " caused the dis- 

 charge of innumerable small worms (Distoma hepaticum)." I 

 think this is quite decisive. The idea of " innumerable " flukes 

 being expelled in this way is altogether out of the question. 



The only genuine case in which any considerable number of 

 Distomata, of this species, have been observed in the human 

 subject is the one recently recorded by Dr Prunac. In this 

 instance two flukes were vomited along with blood immediately 

 after the administration of salines (sel de Seignette), and about 

 thirty were passed per anum. On the following day, some 

 tapeworm proglottides having been evacuated, both salts and 

 male-fern extract were administered. This caused the expulsion 

 of an entire tapeworm, and also about twenty more flukes. Not- 



