166 PROTISTS AND DISEASE 



or not, produce zoosporangia. Now, though there is evidence 

 of the formation of capsules round some of the oval bodies, 

 reproduction in the cysts is chiefly by plasmodia subdividing 

 directly into amoebulae, a fact that suggests the Plasso- 

 myxineae as their proper group ; but early intracellular 

 stages not being traceable, the classification must be un- 

 certain until more information is available. 



An organism recognised in pathology for over 30 years 

 should have a name and without prejudice to future identi- 

 fication with some parasite previously described, I would 

 suggest Olpidiiforma cobboldi as the name of the causal 

 parasites of cystic disease of the urinary tract. 



A false analogy. With respect to the parasites of cancer 

 &c. the position I have maintained is that they are of 

 kindred nature with those of cystic ureteritis. Several 

 observers identified them with coccidia. This Coccidium- 

 idea was successfully opposed by Fabre-Domergue and 

 others. Their task was a very easy one, that of destroying 

 a false analogy, a very different matter from disproving the 

 fact that the bodies in question are parasites. 



Virchow compared the bodies of molluscum contagiosum 

 with C. oviforme and finding no clear correspondence decided 

 illogically that the bodies must be altered epidermal cells, 

 a decision that is accepted in pathology to-day. 



That earnest pioneer, L. Pfeiffer, making the same 

 comparison on other grounds, decided that the virus must 

 be concealed in the interior of the molluscum body and thus 



