136 WORM IN THE EYE. 



from which two brilliant lines ran parallel, direct to the opposite 

 extremity." Another worm extracted b}' Mr. P. was both '* larger 

 and longer" than the former. 



To ACCOUNT FOR THE PRESENCE OF THE WORM IN THE EYE, 

 Sir Everard Home informs us that the Filaria Equi are found in 

 the circulating blood of the horse ; and that he is disposed to be- 

 lieve that they get into the aqueous humour through the arteries 

 of the ciliary processes, which in the horse are of comparatively 

 large caliber : an opinion favoured by the notorious fact of worms 

 being often discovered within the coeliac artery of the ass ; though 

 these appear to be of a different description from — certainly of 

 greater magnitude than — any that have been found in the eye. 

 Mr. Gibb is of the same opinion as Sir Everard : " I have always 

 been disposed," says he, '' to think that the worm in the eye must 

 find its way through the circulating system, and not from without." 

 It is now well enough known, that worms have been discovered 

 in various parts of the bodies of animals, besides within the sto- 

 mach and intestines. Naturalists have described several species 

 — the ascaris, taenia, filaria, strongylus, ligula, &c., as inhabitants 

 of the bodies of the horse, the ox, the sheep, the hog, the deer, &c., 

 and " several circumstances concur," says Mr. Twining, " to render 

 it probable that the ova of the filaria equi are received into the 

 stomach with the food ; and these ova, being taken up by the ab- 

 sorbent vessels, pass by means of the circulation to different parts 

 of the body favourable to the development of the worm ; and that 

 having taken place, their further progress may be impeded by their 

 increased size." 



But HOW does the Worm enter the Body 1 Is it bred 

 therein 1 — is the ovum or the animalcule itself taken in with the 

 food, or with the water, or, like the ovum of the bot, is it licked 

 in by the tongue \ We learn from Mr. Skeavington, that the dis- 

 ease is exclusively " peculiar to India :" from inquiries he made of 

 several Arab merchants, he was informed it was not known either 

 in Arabia or Persia. Mr. Gibb says, to him the presence of the 

 worm appears to be owing " to climate and situation more than to 

 any other circumstance, and to have connexion with particular 

 seasons of the year;" and that he had no cause for believing 



