482 A MANUAL OF BACTERIOLOGY 



Pathogenic Amoebae l 



Three species of Amcebce seem to be parasitic in man, 

 and the generic name of Entamceba has been given to 

 them. One, the E. buccalis, occurs in the mouth in dental 

 caries, the other two inhabit the intestine. One of the 

 latter, the Entamceba coli (Amoeba coli, Losch), occurs in 

 the upper part of the large intestine and appears to be 



FIG. 54. Amceba histolytica. (After Councilman and Lafleur.) 



harmless ; the other, the Entamceba histolytica, is regarded 

 as the cause of amoebic or tropical dysentery. 



The Entamceba histolytica is met with in the faeces in 

 these cases, and also in the pus of the so-called tropical 

 abscess of the liver. It is especially abundant in the 

 mucoid material during the acute stage. The E. histoly- 

 tica is a large protoplasmic mass measuring 25 to 35 /x. in 

 diameter, possessed of slow amoeboid movement, and 

 having a clearer outer zone or ectosarc and a granular 

 endosarc. The pseudopodia are always blunt, never 



1 Councilman and Lafleur, Johns Hopkins Hosp. Reps., vol. ii, 1891 ; 

 Schaudinn, A.K. Gesundheitsamte, xix, p. 547 ; Strong, Musgrave, 

 Clegg, Thomas and Woolley, Bureau of Gov. Laboratories, Manila 

 Bulls. 18 and 32. 



