46 LECTURES. 



remark, that very careful questionings on my part 

 elicited the fact that no separate and isolated pro- 

 glottides were actually escaping with the fa;ces at 

 the time. This led me to explain to the patient that, 

 if no joints had passed previously, the portions of the 

 tapeworm alleged to have come away so frequently 

 could not possibly be those of an ordinary tape- 

 worm ; but they might be referred to the common 

 species of Bothriocephalus which is sometimes called 

 the Broad Tapeworm. Not, however, believing for 

 a moment that she was infested by any kind of 

 cestode parasite, I was compelled to place my 

 opinion in direct opposition to those of my profes- 

 sional brethren who had treated her for tapeworm. 



This negative advice not appearing to give satis- 

 faction in point of fact, I was provisionally looked 

 upon as an ignoramus I consented to treat the 

 case as if it were one of Bothriocephalus, as 

 indeed it was just possible it might have been. 

 Thus, I ordered a male-fern emulsion, followed by 

 a brisk cathartic ; and these drugs, the administra- 

 tion of which was several times repeated, acted 

 very efficiently. Now, had there been any tape- 

 worm present, we should undoubtedly have obtained 

 the necessary evidence of its presence. But what 

 was the immediate professional result of my treat- 

 ment ? Naturally enough, it excited the suspicion 

 which apparent ill-success always begets. Whilst, 

 on the one hand, I maintained more firmly than 



