Filaria loa 5 



see nothing of it. Upon arising, she could see the worm moving 

 across the eye downward and inward. Mrs. X. thinks that the 

 worm when it appeared in the eye would nearly always, if not 

 always, go out by way of the inner canthus. 



"As quickly as possible I prepared the instruments, cocained 

 the eye, and with a small pair of locked forceps grasped the worm 

 and the tissues around it. This pair of forceps was then held by 

 an assistant. I then took a lancet and cut down upon the worm, 

 and with another pair of forceps grasped it, and after unlocking 

 the other forceps pulled it out, when it wiggled much the same 

 as an earthworm would do under similar circumstances. 



"One peculiarity that I may mention regarding the action of 

 the worm in this case is that at no time during pregnancy did 

 Mrs. X. feel any movements of the worm. This was noted in 

 two pregnancies prior to the removal of the worm I am sending 

 you and in two pregnancies in regard to the worm yet in her 

 system. 



"When cut from the eye the Loa measured 32 mm. in length." 



Through the brief mention of these cases made by Primrose 

 (1903:1264) I became aware of two observations in Toronto 

 that probably concerned F. loa. As no account of these cases 

 has been published as yet I am glad to be able, through the cour- 

 tesy of the two gentlemen, to present here the record of the 

 same. It was more than ten years ago that Dr. F. N. G. Starr 

 showed at a meeting of the Toronto Pathological Society a spec- 

 imen of a filaria he had removed from a patient. The worm was 

 not placed at the time, but subsequent publications on F. loa 

 showed its close resemblance to that species, if, indeed, it is not 

 identical with it, as I believe. Since the specimen was lost, final 

 evidence can not be secured. Concerning the case Dr. Starr 

 writes as follows : 



"The patient, a female, and about thirty-five years of age, had 

 been for some years a missionary on the West Coast of Africa, 

 and because of broken-down health, caused by a series of attacks 

 of fever, she returned. On her wav here she had a worm 



275 



