194 DISEASES OF DOMESTICATED BIRDS 
by 7 microns to 5.5 by 9 microns, and is the only form occurring in 
the cecal crypts. The globular form occurs in the lumen of the ceca. 
Control of disease. Feeding of sour milk is favorably regarded 
as a means of saving life. 
PARASITES OF THE LIVER 
The liver of birds is rarely subject to parasitism, if entero-hepatitis 
of the turkey be excepted. 
A flagellate Cercomonas hepatica has been reported in the liver 
of squabs, causing yellowish nodules. 
Echinococcus polymorphus, the cystic phase of the tapeworm of 
the dog, occurs sometimes in birds, and exhibits a preference for the 
liver. Echinococci have been reported in the goura, the peafowl and 
the turkey. The liver becomes enlarged by the presence of the 
cysts until it occupies a large part of the abdominal cavity. The 
hepatic tissue is reduced to thin pieces between the cysts. 
Three species of flukes, Opisthorchis simulans, Metorchis xantho- 
somus and Bulharziella polonica have been found in the hepatic 
canals or biliary vesicles of the domestic duck. The latter species 
occurs in the blood of a large number of species of wild ducks. 
Heterakis columbe, normally a parasite of the intestines of pigeons, 
has been reported as occurring in nodules in the liver. 
Blastomycosis. Martin and Daille have described lesions in the 
liver of the goose, due to Blastomyces (Cryptococcus) anseris. The 
parasites are contained in small sacs about the size of a pea, attached 
to Glisson’s capsule. These sacs are yellowish white in color, fluctu- 
ate on pressure and are connected with one another by narrow chan- 
nels. The contents of the sacs consist of a yellowish white gelatinous 
material enclosing the blastomyces. These latter consist of round or 
oval nucleated refractile bodies surrounded by a distinct membrane. 
PARASITES OF THE BURSA OF FABRICUS 
According to Neumann, the bursa of Fabricus harbors species of 
flukes of the genus Prosthogonimus. They are encountered there but 
rarely, for that pouch disappears in the adult. The parasites conse- 
quently are obliged to leave that diverticulum and enter some of the 
other canals connecting with the cloaca. Sometimes they enter the 
rectum, or they may penetrate the oviduct and become enclosed in an 
egg. Probably all the forms found in the oviduct and the egg also 
occur in the bursa of Fabricus. 
