342 PARASITES OF THE DOMESTIC ANIMALS 



destruction ceases with the beginning of the sporogonous C3'cle, and, if 

 the acute stage of the disease is survived, the animal tends to recover, 

 the destroyed cells being replaced more or less completel}^ by newlj' 

 formed ones. Thus it maj^ be said that the disease is self-limiting. 

 Eimeria stiedae. — Coccidia (p. 337). — This coccidian, also known 

 as Coccidium oviforme and C. cuniculi, is the species commonlj^ found 

 in the Hver of domestic rabbits. Most frequently it attacks the epithe- 

 lium of the bile ducts where it causes destruction of cells and pathologic 

 changes in the Uver by which the secretion of bile is reduced. The con- 

 dition affects rabbits seriously and deaths occur as a result of it. 



Eimeria stiedce is considered by some authors as a cause of coccidiosis 

 in man. 



Diplospora bigemina (Isospora bigemina). Coccidia (p. 337). — In 

 a report upon their work with this coccidian Hall and Wigdor (Journal 

 of the American Veterinary Medical Association, April, 1918) state that 

 in two hundred dogs examined at Detroit, Michigan, it was found in 

 fifteen, or slightly over seven per cent. From this finding they suggest 

 that the parasite may be more common in American dogs than our pres- 

 ent lack of information would indicate. 



In reference to the pathogenesis of Diplospora bigemina, these au- 

 thors may be further quoted from the same article as follows : 



"As regards the pathological significance of D. bigemina, we have 

 but Httle information, but the following notes may serve some purpose: 

 Dog No. 130 presented a clinical picture of distemper and died of pneu- 

 monia, probably due in part to distemper and partlj' to an accident 

 in drenching. The small intestine showed diffuse hemorrhagic points, 

 most pronounced in the ileum, especially the lower ileum near the valve. 

 Scrapings of the mucosa showed the coccidia to be most abundant in the 

 ileum, less so in the jejunum and least so in the duodenum. These 

 findings of increasing numbers of coccidia with increasing severity 

 of lesions may be correlated, but in the absence of sections indicating 

 the relation of the coccidia to the hemorrhage, we do not care to hazard 

 a definite opinion. Dog No. 173 showed numerous fine petechiae in the 

 intestinal mucosa, and these were especally numerous in the Peyer's 

 patches, giving these a uniformly dark appearance. No sections were 

 made and this dog had shown no oocysts in the feces for fortj^'-five days. 

 Dog No. 127 showed innumerable pinpoint petechiae in the ileum, but 

 it would be unsafe to draw conclusions based on this one dog, as the 

 animal figured in other experiments. The intestine of dog No. 223 was 

 macroscopically normal except for the presence of hook-worm petechiae. 

 In view'of the fact that coccidia are destructive to epithelial tissue and 

 that some species fairly closel}^ related to D. bigemina are known to be 

 highly pathological, it would seem reasonable to suppose that D. big- 

 emina might be distinctly pathological at times, though the apparent 



