528 A HcBmatozoon in Human Blood. [part 11 1. 



blood corpuscle ; the length, however, is not given in this communication, but T find 

 this referred to in one of the early volumes of the Lancet (1843) as being about y^oth 

 of an inch, which is somewhat smaller than the human Haematozoon. These dogs were 

 under observation for periods varying from several months to five years, during which the 

 state of the blood remained unchanged. Post-mo^^tem examinations appear to have been 

 conducted with great care at all seasons of the year, but on one occasion only were 

 what the authors deemed to be the " parent-worms " discovered. Six of these were 

 found to be lodged in a large, recently-formed clot in the right ventricle — four 

 being females and two males. The size of these was by no means microscopic, being 

 from 5 to 7 inches in length (14 to 20 centimetres),* and from ^^th to yVth of an 

 inch transversely. Schneider questions whether these were the parent-worms of the 

 microscopic Filarise ; f others state that they had simply found their way to the heart 

 from the intestines by accident, because this observation of MM. Grrube and Dela- 

 fond, although published about twenty years, has never been confirmed. Leuckart, 

 who, however, expresses no opinion on this particular subject, refers to these observa- 

 tions as an illustration of the fact that, with the exception of the Trichina spiralis, 

 not a single Nematode has been observed to infect its own " bearer " — the Hsematozoa 

 of dogs as well as of frogs never having been observed to develop into mature Helminths 

 as long as they remained in the blood.if 



In a highly interesting paper read by Dr. Cobbold before the Linnean Society 

 in 1867,§ it is more than hinted at that the Hsematozoa referred to by MM. Grube 

 and Delafond were the brood of " Spiroptera sanguinolenta " so commonly found in 

 the heart of dogs in China, but nothing is mentioned concerning the microscopic 

 examination of the blood of these animals. In a foot-note it is stated that Dr. 

 Lamprey had forwarded specimens to the Netley Museum. Should these be still in 

 a good state of preservation, it would be a great matter if Professor Aitken would re- 

 examine the specimens, especially as to the minute structure of the contained embryos, 

 if there be any, and publish the result. || 



As regards the blood and heart of dogs in India, out of about 300 dogs 

 examined by Dr. D. D. Cunningham and myself in connection with various experi- 

 ments, in no instance were any such Helminths detected, so that the canine Filarise 

 of France and China would appear not to be found in Bengal. 



Dr. Gr. E. Dobson has drawn my attention to a description of mature Filariae 

 found by M. Joly in the heart of a seal ; the female worm is stated to have 



* Not as erroneously stated in some English works on Helminthology, " from one-half to three-fourths 

 of an inch." 



•)• "Monographic der Nematoden," 1866, p. 88. 

 -_ % " Menschlichen Parasiten," Vol. 11, Part 1, p. 102. 

 'x. '§ ''Journal of Linn. Soc." — Zoology, Vol. IX. 



II Acting on this suggestion, Dr. F. H. Welch, Assistant Professor of Pathology, Army Medical School, 

 has made careful . examinations both of the mature parasites and of their contained embryos and 

 i ova ; and recorded his observations in the Lancet (Vol. I, 1873) and in the Monthly Microscopical Journal 

 V i (Vol. II, 1873). 



