APPENDIX III. 



PSOEOSPERMS OR COCOIDIA.— AMCEBA COLI. 



PSOEOSPEKMS OR OoCCIDIA. 



Greyish- WHITE nodules may occasionally be found in the liver of a 

 rabbit, the result of a disease which may be mistaken for tuber- 

 culosis. This disease often proves fatal, and may occur in an 

 epidemic form in rabbit warrens. The nodules have cheesy or 

 purulent contents, which are found, pn microscopical examination, 

 to contain great quantities of Coccidium oviforme. 



The coecidia pass from the intestine into the bile-ducts. The 

 walls of the bUe-ducts become dilated and folded ; and irregular 

 cavities result from the partial or complete disappearance of the 

 dividing walls of the altered ducts. The folds are composed of 

 connective tissues lined with columnar epithelium, and the coecidia, 

 in different stages of development, are found between the cells, and 

 free in the cavities of the nodules. 



The individual coecidia are egg-shaped bodies. They possess a 

 thick smooth shell, with an opening, or micropyle, at one end, and 

 protoplasmic contents which may completely fill the capsule or be 

 collected into a spherical mass. 



After passing from the liver and intestine, these oval bodies 

 undergo a further development. According to Leuckart, who has 

 very fully described this parasite, the protoplasmic contents divide 

 into four masses, and from each is developed a C-shaped hyahne 

 rod, the cavity of which is occupied by closely packed granules. In 

 this condition they remain until they gain access to a fresh host. 



Coccidium oviforme has been found in the human liver, and also 

 in sheep, dogs, and cats. Similar, but not identical, bodies occur in 

 mice, and also in fish and other cold-blooded animals. 



Miescher's tubes are peculiar structures found in swine, cattle, 

 sheep, deer, and mice. They consist of a firm envelope inclosing a 

 number of reniform or bean-shaped bodies. 



609 39 



