﻿490 The Philippine Journal of Science 



other hand, all of the essential characters of the Philippine filaria 

 correspond to those of Filaria hancrofti. The more important 

 of these characters are: (1) General, (a) size, (6) shape, (c) 

 head bearing 2 series of tiny papillae, {d) slight thickening of 

 the cuticle lining the mouth, (e) delicate cross striations of the 

 cuticle which vary much in distinctness; (2) female, (a) posi- 

 tion of the vulva, (6) the pyriform enlargement of the terminal 

 portion of the vagina (receptaculum seminis), (c) the absence 

 of anal papillae; (3) male, (a) the tendrillike coiling of the 

 tail with an incurved end, (6) 2 dissimilar spicules, (c) the 

 presence of 3 pairs of postanal papillae and their size, shape, 

 and position, (d) the presence of numerous (about 32) pairs 

 of minute preanal papillae; and (4) larva, (a) a pointed tail 

 and (6) the possession of a sheath. In the literature available 

 here, I have been unable to find any detailed description of the 

 internal anatomy of Filaria hancrofti; therefore, I am unable to 

 compare the details of the anatomy of this species with that of 

 the Philippine filaria. However, on the basis of external char- 

 acters, especially of head and tail and their appendages, which 

 are generally used for classifying adult filaria, the Philippine 

 filaria appears to be identical with Filaria hancrofti. This deci- 

 sion, based on the study of these specimens from one patient, 

 does not preclude the possibility of another species of filaria 

 existing here, but in conjunction with the evidence of recent 

 studies of the larval forms it renders it extremely improbable, 

 and it establishes definitely for the first time the existence of 

 Filaria hancrofti in the Philippine Islands. 



LITERATURE REFERRED TO IN THE TEXT 



AsHBUKN, p. M., and Craig, C. F. A new blood filaria of man: Filaria 



philippinensis. Am. Joum. Med. Sci. (1906), n. s. 132, 435-443. 

 Idem. Observations upon Filaria philippinensis and its development in the 



mosquito. Phil. Joum. Sci., Sec. B (1907), 2, 1-14. 

 Bahr, p. H. Filariasis and elephantiasis in Fiji. Joum. Lond. School 



Trop. Med. (1912), Suppl. 1. 

 Bowman, F. B. A case of dysentery caused by Balantidium coli with 



coincident filarial infarction of the spleen. Phil. Joum. Sci., Sec. B 



(1911), 6, 147-153. 

 Calvert, W. J. A preliminary report on the blood in two case of filariasis. 



Bull. Johns Hopkins Hosp. (1902), 13, 23. 

 Leiper, p. T. See Bahr, 1912. 

 Phalen, J. M., and Nichols, H. J. Filariasis and elephantiasis in southern 



Luzon. Phil. Joum. Sci., Sec. B (1908), 3, 293-303. 

 Idem. The distribution of filaria in the Philippine Islands. Ibid. (1909), 



4, 127-135. 

 Smith, J. W. Some clinical observations on filariasis in Bilibid Prison. 



Read before the Manila Medical Society, April 6, 1914. 



