3^8 ANIMAL PAEAS1TES. 



Pallas, who never saw so many Gordii as in the Russian TValder 

 Lake, although a F'daria medinensis had never occurred amongst the 

 inhabitants.) Amongst the Germans, it is known as the medina 

 worm, the Guinea thread-worm (Guineischer Fadenwurm), the 

 skin-worm (Haut-), leg-worm (Bein-), and Pharaoh's-worm (Pha- 

 raohswurm) ; the Guinea dragon (Guineische Drache) ; by 

 "VYarenius it is called Sehnadernspulwurm ; by the Dutch, Huid-, 

 Been-, traadworm, guineiscke Draakje; by the English, the 

 Guinea hair-worm ; in French, le Dragonneau, le ver de Guiuee, 

 le ver cutane, la Veine de Medine; by the Portuguese in 

 America, culebrilla, (probably a diminutive of coluber) ; by the 

 Swedes, Ouda-Betet, Tagelmatk. 



Besides the errors disseminated by translators with regard to 

 the position of the worm, we have still to mention that many 

 describe it as the larva of an insect; even Brera inquires 

 " au hceruca ;" and Jacobson, of Copenhagen, regards it as an 

 asexual germ-sac. 



Our knowledge of the natural history of the worm is at pre- 

 sent very deficient. It is of the thickness of packthread, its 

 anterior extremity obtuse, the mouth circular, without lips, but 

 beset with four hooks, or, more correctly, with four styles, as the 

 weapons on the head of the Filarice form acute, straight spines; 

 the vagina opens in the neighbourhood of the mouth, and the 

 vagina and uterus are probably double, as in most Filarice, I 

 have not yet examined the head myself. 



The length of the worm varies from several inches to three 

 yards. Statements of greater dimensions are probably founded 

 in error. In such cases, several worms must have been taken 

 for one. 



With regard to the Filuria, we find, in the ' Gazette Medicale 

 de Paris/ No. 23, 1855, p. 365, the following report from the 

 Proceedings of the Societe de Biologie for March, 1855. 



The F'daria medinensis removed by Malgaigne, on the 13th of 

 July, 1854, from the lower part of the thigh of a man, was, 

 according to Robin, still filled with eggs. Beneath the general 

 integument of the worm, which forms a long, thin tube, there 

 was found, at this period, no trace of other organs or intestines, 

 but only a very thin sheath on the inner surface of the former, 

 which was filled with eggs, i. e., the uterus. The young con- 

 tained in this were almost all rolled up together, or with the tail 

 springing outwards. They lived for several days in water at the 



