PARASITOLOGY. 211 



Animals Infested. — The ox, sheep, pig and goat. 



Parts Infested. — Most common in the oesophagus; 

 also found in the muscles of the trunk, head, and 

 heart. 



Conditions Produced. — They may cause an effusion 

 into the tissues. If only a few are present no harm 

 comes from the infestation; many may cause con- 

 ditions similar to that produced by the Coccidia. 



Hemasporidia (Hemo — blood) 



( Sporidum — spore) . 



The order Hemasporidia belongs to the class 

 Sporozoa, and includes the genus Piroplasma. 



PiROPLASMA BiGEMINUM (Bis twice) 



(Geminus — twin) . 



Synonyms. — Pirosoma Bigeminum (soma — body), 

 Piroplasma Bovis, Apisoma Bigeminum, Ambospor- 

 idies, Portensis Virulentissimus, Babesia Bigeminum 

 Bovis. 



Distribution. — Found in the southern part of the 

 United States ; also in other warm countries. 



Description. — They are pear-shaped protoplasmic 

 bodies three to four microns long. 



Life Cycle. — The adult protozoon inhabits the red 

 blood cell. From this pear-shaped adult is formed 

 corpuscles which are capable of invading other 

 cells. The pear-shaped body becomes rounded, then 

 divided into three to five corpuscles; these corpuscles 

 have been noted to possess amoeboid movement, 

 and are capable of invading new red blood cells. 

 These divide into two parts, which develop to the 

 full sized pear-shaped bodies; the pointed ends of 

 these protozoa are usually close together, joined with 

 a fine film. The tick, feasting upon an infested ox, 



