398 Dr. O^Bryen Belliugliam on Irish Entozoa. 



f Cysticercus cellulosce *1rii.- hi • r • ^ -, 



3 J Tcenia cellulosce (Pen- y^f m cellular tissue of pig (^us 

 I nant,Turton).... J ^'''f'^^- 



4. Cysticercus pisiformis.. {^^f^^tj^f^''''^'''''' ^^ '"-^'^''^ (^'P^' 



Species duhicc. 



5. Cysticercus\. Cysts in abdomen of loach (Cobitis barbatulii). 



Genus 20. Axthocephalus. 



(Derived from o.vdos,flos, and uefuXt), caput.) 

 Gen. Char. — Body soft and flattened, often nearly cylindrical, vary- 

 ing in length in different species ; terminating posteriorly in a ve- 

 sicle, within which the head and body can be retracted. Head 

 provided with two or four ear- shaped depressions and four re- 



* The Cysticercus celhdoseE occurs both in the human subject and 

 in the pig (Sus Scrofa), at least the species are considered to be iden- 

 tical. It is very rare in the human subject, and is also of very mi- 

 nute size, so that it may perhaps frequently have been overlooked. It 

 is much more common in the pig, and when abundant gives to the 

 flesh of the animal the appearance which has been termed measles or 

 measly. Its development is favoured by bad feeding, cold, and too 

 much confinement, the animal does not thrive, becomes weak and 

 emaciated ; eventually diaiThoea sets in, the hairs may fall off", or the 

 posterior extremities become paralysed, the body exhales a disagree- 

 able odour, and the flesh is unfit for food. When the disease is at 

 all advanced it is perfectly incurable. 



t Upon one occasion I found in the abdominal cavity of the com- 

 mon loach (Cobilis barbalula) several very minute globular cysts, not 

 exceeding in size the head of a small pin, and of a white colour ; they 

 were attached to the intestines and liver by short and fine cords, and 

 consisted of an outer transparent coat and an internal more opake 

 one ; on incising carefully the external coat the internal cyst was 

 protruded, and after this had remained for a short time in water the 

 head was protruded and afterwards the proboscis, the internal cyst 

 forming the caudal vesicle. 



When the animal was fully protruded, its length v^•as greater than 

 that of the external cyst. There was no appearance of body between 

 the head and caudal vesicle until the latter was detached ; it is ex- 

 tremely short and transversely rugose. The caudal vesicle is dia- 

 phanous, and about its centre an opake white body was seen, from 

 which a narrow line extended to the head. The head and pro- 

 boscis together measure about half the length of the caudal vesicle. 

 The proboscis is subcylindrical, and unarmed apparently, about the 

 same length as the head, and is capable of being retracted within a 

 kind of sheath formed by the head. The latter is spherical ; the four 

 oscula were seen in some ; but in others, owing to the minuteness of 

 the animal, I was unable to see those parts. 



