A REMARKABLE CASE OF BILHARZIOSIS 



5 



areas showed, under the microscope, hundreds of the terminally spined 

 ova of the Schistosomum hcematobium. 



The Pancreas was to all naked-eye appearance perfectly normal, but 

 the microscope revealed a slight amount of cirrhosis, and an unduly small 

 number of Langherhans' islets. However, the most interesting thing 

 noted was the presence of bilharzial ova in this organ, these ova were 

 fairly numerous and were mostly found in the cirrhotic bands, but a few 

 were seen lying in the glandular tissue. The ova found in the pancreas 

 were mostly broken and partly destroyed, but the transparent broken 

 shells were quite easily recognisable, especially as similar remnants of 

 ova are often seen in other situations, e.g., in the liver, and, moreover, it 



Fig. I. — Bilharzial Cirrhosis of Liver. Antero-posterior section of right lobe. The figure 

 shows great increase of fibrous tissue round the portal canals. 



was found that certain of the broken shells retained the characteristic 

 spine. 



This is the only case in which I have deliberately examined the 

 pancreas for bilharzial ova, and doubtless the eggs will be found in other 

 cases, in this organ, if they are looked for. It is generally believed that 

 the pancreas seldom or never contains these ova — probably this opinion 

 dates from Kartulis' paper,* where the distinguished Alexandrian 

 physician reports two cases in which he failed to find the ova in the 

 pancreas, although they were present in various other organs. Fourteen 

 years afterwards Kartulis again draws attention to the absence of eggs in 



* Virchow's Archiv, 1885, xcix., p. 139. 



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