252 



THE TAPEWORMS 



eye, under the skin of the thigh or in other situations. One 

 case is reported from Japan where the larva lay in the urinary 

 passage, its head appearing during urination. Often the pres- 

 ence of the parasite causes long-lasting tumors; a recent case is 

 reported of a specimen removed from a breast 



in a woman in Texas. 



The cases of infection with Sparganum man- 

 soni have occurred in Japan, Egypt, East 

 Africa, British Guiana and Texas. Of 25 cases 

 so far reported, 20 are from Japan, a fact pos- 

 sibly related to the habit of eating raw fish 

 which is prevalent among the people of that 

 country. The source of infection is, however, 

 not definitely known. 



Another type of Sparganum, which has been 

 termed S. proliferum, was discovered by a 

 Japanese investigator, Ijima, in a Japanese 

 woman in 1904. The skin on a large part of 

 her body was much swollen and presented 

 numerous hard pimples. Examination showed 

 thousands of worms which were identified as 

 larval tapeworms of the Sparganum type, im- 

 bedded in little oval capsules varying in size 

 from less than one mm. (^ of an .inch) in 

 length to six or eight mm. (J of an inch). 

 Young slender worms not yet encysted were 

 also found. In 1907 a similar case occurred 

 in a fisherman in Florida, and the parasites 

 were believed by Dr. Stiles to be either identical 

 with or closely related to the Japanese worm. 

 FIG. 98. Spar- Two other Japanese cases, discovered in 1907 

 ganum mansoni; nat. anc j iQii respectively, have also been reported. 



size. (After Ijima T ,. ,, , ' , ,, 



and Murata.) In one of these the worms, most but not all 



of them in capsules, were found in countless 

 numbers not only in the subcutaneous tissue but also in the 

 muscles and throughout most of the internal organs, including 

 even the brain. 



The worms of this species (Fig. 99) are in all cases white, 

 flattened organisms of very variable shape and size. They 

 usually vary from three mm. to 12 mm. (J to i an inch) in length, 



