﻿124 
  Thirtieth 
  Report 
  on 
  the 
  State 
  Museum. 
  [12] 
  

  

  found 
  in 
  an 
  apple. 
  They 
  consisted 
  of 
  one 
  entire 
  individual 
  

   and 
  the 
  anterior 
  half 
  of 
  a 
  second, 
  and 
  apparently 
  pertain 
  to 
  

   the 
  Mermis 
  acuminata, 
  a 
  long 
  thread-worm 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  

   discovered 
  infesting 
  the 
  larvae 
  of 
  many 
  insects. 
  Among 
  

   others, 
  it 
  is 
  parasitic 
  in 
  the 
  larvae 
  of 
  the 
  fruit-moth 
  of 
  the 
  

   apple, 
  which 
  readily 
  accounts 
  for 
  its 
  presence 
  in 
  the 
  fruit. 
  

   Twenty-five 
  years 
  ago 
  (Proc. 
  1850, 
  p. 
  117) 
  he 
  had 
  described 
  

   a 
  worm, 
  belonging 
  to 
  the 
  collection 
  of 
  the 
  Academy, 
  and 
  

   labeled 
  as 
  having 
  been 
  obtained 
  from 
  a 
  child's 
  mouth, 
  

   which 
  was 
  evidently 
  the 
  same 
  species. 
  It 
  having 
  been 
  in 
  a 
  

   child's 
  mouth 
  is 
  probably 
  to 
  be 
  explained 
  by 
  supposing 
  that 
  

   the 
  child 
  had 
  eaten 
  an 
  infected 
  apple. 
  

  

  The 
  characters 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  specimens 
  of 
  the 
  worm, 
  both 
  

   females, 
  are 
  as 
  follows 
  : 
  Body 
  filiform, 
  pale 
  fuscous, 
  nar- 
  

   rower 
  anteriorly. 
  Head 
  conical, 
  truncate, 
  with 
  the 
  mouth 
  sim- 
  

   ple 
  and 
  unarmed. 
  Caudal 
  extremity 
  thicker 
  than 
  the 
  head, 
  

   obtusely 
  rounded, 
  and 
  furnished 
  with 
  a 
  minute 
  spur-like 
  pro- 
  

   cess. 
  Length, 
  iive 
  inches 
  eight 
  lines 
  ; 
  cephalic 
  end 
  at 
  mouth 
  

   -^ 
  mm. 
  ; 
  a 
  short 
  distance 
  below 
  ^ 
  mm. 
  ; 
  middle 
  of 
  body 
  f 
  mm. 
  ; 
  

   near 
  caudal 
  end 
  J 
  mm. 
  ; 
  mucro 
  ^ 
  mm. 
  long, 
  -^ 
  mm. 
  thick. 
  

  

  We 
  transcribe 
  for 
  comparison 
  the 
  description 
  of 
  the 
  exam- 
  

   ple 
  obtained 
  from 
  a 
  child's 
  mouth, 
  to 
  which 
  reference 
  is 
  made 
  

   above, 
  together 
  with 
  the 
  accompanying 
  interesting 
  remarks, 
  

   which 
  show 
  the 
  apprehension 
  entertained 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Leidy, 
  at 
  

   that 
  time, 
  at 
  least, 
  of 
  serious 
  results 
  which 
  might 
  follow 
  the 
  

   introduction 
  into 
  the 
  human 
  system 
  through 
  the 
  mouth, 
  of 
  the 
  

   Mermis 
  and 
  allied 
  species 
  of 
  Entozoa. 
  

  

  Filaria 
  hominis 
  oris. 
  — 
  Body 
  white, 
  opaque, 
  linear, 
  thread- 
  

   like 
  ; 
  mouth 
  round, 
  simple, 
  posterior 
  extremity 
  obtuse, 
  fur- 
  

   nished 
  with 
  a 
  short, 
  curved, 
  epidermal 
  hooklet 
  ^-j-^- 
  inch 
  in 
  

   length, 
  by 
  20 
  \ 
  inch 
  in 
  diameter 
  at 
  base. 
  Length, 
  five 
  inches 
  

   seven 
  lines/greatest 
  breadth 
  -^ 
  inch 
  ; 
  breadth 
  at 
  mouth 
  ^- 
  - 
  

   inch 
  ; 
  at 
  posterior 
  extremity 
  -^ 
  inch. 
  

  

  Remarks. 
  — 
  The 
  description 
  is 
  taken 
  from 
  a 
  single 
  specimen 
  

   preserved 
  in 
  alcohol, 
  in 
  the 
  collection 
  of 
  the 
  Academy, 
  labeled 
  

   " 
  obtained 
  from 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  a 
  child." 
  

  

  Is 
  it 
  a 
  young 
  individual, 
  or 
  perhaps 
  a 
  male 
  of 
  the 
  Filaria 
  

   Mendinensis, 
  or 
  Guinea-worm 
  ? 
  The 
  latter, 
  as 
  is 
  well 
  known, 
  

   infests 
  the 
  human 
  body, 
  often 
  growing 
  to 
  an 
  enormous 
  length, 
  

   several 
  yards 
  or 
  more, 
  in 
  the 
  inter-tropics 
  of 
  Asia 
  and 
  Africa. 
  

   It 
  is 
  frequently 
  brought 
  in 
  the 
  body 
  of 
  negro 
  slaves 
  from 
  

   Africa 
  to 
  America, 
  where 
  no 
  entozoon 
  of 
  the 
  kind 
  has 
  ever 
  

   been 
  noticed 
  to 
  be 
  parasitic 
  in 
  man, 
  as 
  an 
  indigenous 
  produc- 
  

   tion. 
  From 
  some 
  late 
  observations 
  on 
  the 
  course 
  of 
  life 
  of 
  

   entozoa, 
  helminthologists 
  have 
  been 
  led 
  to 
  suspect 
  that 
  most 
  

   and 
  probably 
  all 
  entozoa 
  pass 
  different 
  stages 
  of 
  their 
  exist- 
  

   ence 
  in 
  different 
  animals. 
  If 
  such 
  be 
  the 
  fact, 
  may 
  not 
  the 
  

  

  