224 The Philippine Journal of Science i9is 



the cysts of Trichomonas, but as will be shown this remains to be 

 proved. Prowazek, (43) following a study of them, has declared 

 his belief that they are the cysts of a flagellate, Bodo lacertse. 

 Added evidence of their flagellate nature has been recently 

 produced by Chatton, (9) and further presumptive evidence is 

 gained by a study of the plate illustrating Hadley's paper. (20) 



A review of some of the clinical observations on flagellate 

 infections discloses a variety of opinions, which coincide some- 

 what with the views that have been held regarding the etiology 

 of Entamoeba histolytica in dysentery. Some writers frankly 

 state their belief that THchomonas and some of the other flagel- 

 lates are pathogenic and that they may give rise to the symptom 

 complex known as dysentery. Others believe that they will pro- 

 duce nothing worse than diarrhoea, while still others adopt an 

 intermediate position in holding that while incapable of initiat- 

 ing lesions they may aggravate preexisting lesions. Brumpt(4) 

 has described a case of colitis in a patient returned to France 

 from Tonkin that he ascribes to infection with Trichomonas 

 intestinalis. Escomel(H) has written of one hundred fifty-two 

 cases he speaks of as dysentery, occurring in Peru. The causa- 

 tive organism he believes to have been Trichomonas and claims 

 that the source of infection was traced to a polluted water supply. 

 Mello-Leitao(3l) traced cases of dysentery in children in Rio de 

 Janeiro to Trichomonas intestinalis and Lamblia intestinalis, oc- 

 curring either separately or together. He believes that flagellate 

 dysentery is benign, but that the organisms may be pathogenic 

 to children under 3 years of age. This form of dysentery, he 

 thinks, is the most frequent type occurring in infants. Derrieu 

 and Raynaud (10) report a case of chronic dysentery in Algiers, 

 which they lay at the door of Pentatrichomonas bengalensis 

 Chatterjee, 1915. In the United States, Rhamy and Metts(44) 

 state their strong belief in the pathogenicity of Trichomonas 

 intestinalis and give detailed clinical reports of several cases. 

 The senior author says that in an experience extending over 

 seventeen years he has never found flagellated protozoa in stools 

 except in cases with existing or recent acute or chronic diarrhoea. 

 He states his belief that sufficient importance has not been 

 placed on the pathogenicity of this parasite. 



Rhamy and Metts review an epidemic of flagellate dysentery 

 involving seventy-eight cases with seventeen deaths and they 

 also present seven selected cases of their own, none of which, 

 however, went to autopsy. These cases they characterize as 

 "dysenteric diarrhoea." They state that so far as they could 



