ACANTHOCEPHALA 175 



two testes, and the ducts from these unite in a single 

 ejaculatory duct which is usually furnished with six or 

 -eight glands, and opens into a penis at the bottom of a 

 protrusible bursa. 



In the female there is a single ovary. The eggs are 

 passed into the body cavity, where they become mature, 

 the embryos develop and are surrounded by a capsule 

 before they are extruded from the genital opening which 

 is posterior. 



The genus Echinorhynchus is represented by numerous 

 species parasitic in the intestines of birds. Some of these 

 species are two or three inches in length, and may be 

 somewhat flattened and wrinkled transversely. On a 

 casual examination they may be mistaken for tapeworms. 

 Other species are short, smooth and hard, and may be 

 mistaken for seeds. 



FIG. 70. Egg of Echinorhynchus gigas. 300/1. (After Leuckart.) 



They are sometimes found in mammals, and one species, 

 Echinorhynchus gigas, has been found in man. The con- 

 dition will probably not be diagnosed unless the charac- 

 teristic eggs (fig. 70) are found in the faeces. It is a 

 common parasite in the intestines of pigs. The inter- 

 mediate hosts are various species of beetles. 



DIAGNOSIS OF ENTOZOA. 



Diagnosis of Entozoal Infections. Portions of tape- 

 worms ripe proglottides are passed with the faeces 

 and can be readily diagnosed. 



Oxyuris verniicularis, when fully mature, are passed 

 with the faeces, and may also be found on the perineum. 

 No other worms are constantly passed as adults, though 

 Ascaris lumbricoides in a small proportion of the cases 

 will be passed either by anus or mouth. 



