262 ANIMAL PARASITES. 



were unimpaired ; but potatoes and hard fare disordered her 

 stomach. In June, 1823, the tightness of the chest, the short- 

 ness of breath, the short dry cough, and the weakness of the 

 joints increased. Suddenly there occurred all sorts of opistho- 

 touic phenomena with aphonia lasting for several days, very 

 frequent violent cough, difficult respiration, great pain in the 

 hypochondria and the chest, and extreme pain of the distended 

 abdomen. After several remissions and exacerbations repeated 

 vomitings then took place, when, besides the food taken, some 

 corrupted bile, a membranous substance, and a great quantity 

 of coagulated blood, many worms were again evacuated, still 

 in a living state, according to the reports in the vicinity. Of 

 these a portion were thrown away. Mehlis now had every- 

 thing that was passed collected in a spittoon. The patient 

 vomited three times more, and passed several uninjured D. 

 hepaticam, as well as a great number of fragments of Distoma and 

 fifty specimens of D. lanceolatum. Distoma never presented 

 themselves in the stools. From this time the patient slowly 

 recovered; but still suffered frequently from similar disorders in 

 the following year, so that Mehlis believed the old guests still 

 held their post. 



The whole history of the case looks like a mystification by a 

 hysterical patient. For, notwithstanding his requests, Mehlis 

 was never present when the worms were vomited, and the only 

 passage of worms through the anus took place in the wood, when 

 no one was present. It appears to me to be very suspicious that 

 the patient complained that, although she was in general in good 

 health, potatoes and heavy diet did not agree with her, which 

 appears as though she had speculated on obtaining better fare, from 

 the compassion of her neighbours, and medical men who took 

 such particular interest in worms. Under these circumstances, 

 it is to be regretted that from the lamented early death of Mehlis 

 he could not subsequently dissect the patient, who is perhaps still 

 living, and must now be sixty-five years old. The principal reason 

 of my doubts lies in the period at which the case occurred. It was 

 then the fashion to vomit lizards, frogs, eels, and fishes, which 

 were supposed to have been borne in the body. Mehlis's patient 

 might have made use of Distoma obtained from the butcher, and 

 thus have deceived her doctor and relations. 



9. Very recently, according to Dujardin, Duval has found this 

 worm in the vena porta of the human subject at Rennes. The 



