298 FLAT WORMS 



being infected. This fluke is about y to } inch (8 mm.) long and C. sinensis about 

 % inch long and K inch broad (16 X 4 mm.). When squeezed out of the 

 thickened bile ducts it is so transparent and glairy as almost to resemble glairy 

 mucus. As many as 4000 of these parasites have been found in a case, chiefly in 

 the liver, but at times in the pancreas. This fluke is supposed to produce most 

 serious symptoms, as indigestion, swelling and tenderness of liver, ascites, oedema, 

 and a fatal cachexia. As a matter of fact, many physicians in China attribute very 

 little pathogenic importance to it. The disease is diagnosed by the presence of the 

 ova in the stools. The source of infection is probably through the eating of uncooked 

 fish. 



Kobayashi has examined various mollusks and fish for trematode larvae. He 

 succeeded in infecting nine kittens and two cats by feeding them with certain fresh- 

 water fishes whose flesh contained trematode larvae. These fish were found in 

 districts where human distomiasis was common. The view is taken that the two 

 species of Clonorchis are identical. 



Opisthorchis felineus. This fluke is smaller than the C. endemicns, and is a 

 common parasite of the gall-bladder and bile ducts of cats. There are two-lobed 

 testicles in this species instead of dendritic ones as in C. endemicus. In certain 

 parts of Siberia the parasite is found in more than 6% of the human autopsies. The 

 symptoms are similar to those caused by C. endemicus. 



Other liver flukes of less importance which have been reported for man are: i. 

 Opisthorchis noverca. This was found in bile ducts of two natives of Calcutta. It 

 was lancet-shaped and covered with spines. 



2. Metorchis truncatus: This is a small fluke, K2 i ncn ( 2 mm.) long, squarely 

 cut across at Its posterior end and covered with spines. This was possibly found 

 once in man. 



Intestinal Flukes 



Cladorchis watsoni (Amphistomum watsoni). This fluke is about ^ inch 

 (8 mm.) long, of oval outline but broader at posterior end and has an indistinct oral 

 sucker and a large sucker at the other end. This parasite has been reported from 

 northern Nigeria and is said to be a common infection of regions about Lake Chad. 

 Eggs, 125 X 75M- 



Gastrodiscus hominis (Amphistomum hominis). This fluke is about ^ inch 

 (6 mm.) long and has a disc-like concavity, about Y inch in diameter from 

 which proceeds a teat-like projection, bearing an oral sucker. The acetabulum 

 is in the posterior border of the disc. While it has only been reported a few times for 

 man, indications are that it is probably fairly common in India and Assam. 

 Eggs, 150 X 72/x. It gives rise to dysenteric symptoms. 



Fasciolopsis buski (Distomum crassum). This is probably a rather common 

 parasite in India, as Dobson found the eggs in i% of the stools of more than 

 1000 coolies. The fluke is from 2 to 3 inches (40 to 70 mm.) in length and about ^ 

 inch (12 mm.) in breadth. It is thick, brown in color, and has a very large acetabu- 

 lum, three times the size of the oral sucker and located almost adjacent to it. The 

 branched ovary and shell gland lie in the center with the branched testicles posterior. 

 The coiled uterus is anterior to the testicles. Eggs, 125 X 75M- These parasites 

 cause dyspeptic symptoms and an irregular diarrhoea. It is also called Distomum 



