28 LECTURES. 



the " joints" per anum, he had suffered nothing 

 from its presence. In this instance a single ad- 

 ministration of the male-fern extract, followed by 

 a suitable purgative, brought away about ten feet 

 of a tapeworm at the first movement of the bowels, 

 the remainder of the parasite, including the head, 

 not coming away until after the employment of a 

 second dose of the drug. 



Naturally one would have supposed a complete 

 cure to have been effected, especially since there 

 were no fragments of a second tapeworm detected 

 at the time. However, veiy shortly afterwards I 

 think about five weeks the " segments " reap- 

 peared, but as the patient now considered himself 

 competent to undertake his own case, I do not know 

 what result followed a repetition of the course of 

 treatment I had previously pursued. It was quite 

 clear, however, that at least two parasites were 

 originally present, one of them having successfully 

 resisted the poisonous effects of the drug. I have 

 no doubt a foot or more of the second worm had 

 been dislodged with the first. Had there been a 

 larger proportion of the second parasite, it is not 

 probable that it would have escaped my notice. 



In all ordinary cases, where it is possible, a dili- 

 gent search should be made for the head of the 

 worm, otherwise it is impossible to clear your 

 patient's mind as to the likelihood or otherwise 

 of a return of the disease. Though in many cases 



