400 Veterinary Medicine. 



digested setting free the embryo, which is supposed to bore its 

 way into the abdominal air sacs, and pass thence into the bronchia. 

 In the air passages they pass through their first transformation 

 and the sexes are differentiated by the formation in different 

 individuals of male and female organs. When male and female 

 unite they are of equal size, and the subsequent extreme develop- 

 ment of the female is in connection with the extension of oviducts 

 and formation of ova. 



Birds susceptible. A long list of birds, wild and tame, harbor 

 the syngamus trachealis, such as hens, turkeys, pheasants, part- 

 ridges, pea-fowl, magpie, black stork, hooded crow, chocard, 

 parrot, starling, swift, woodpecker, sparrow, martin. The 

 young downy birds suffer most. 



Syngamus Bronchialis. This is a rather larger worm than 

 the syngamus trachealis, the male being lo mm. long and the 

 female 15 to 25 mm. The union between the two is not so con- 

 stant and the caudal end of the female is more pointed. The 

 elliptical ova, 90/* long are not operculated as in the /ra£-Ai?«/?5. 

 The ribs of the male caudal bursa have the two posterior trifid. 

 They enter the avian body as do the trachealis. 



Birds susceptible. This worm has been found in the bronchia 

 of ducks, swans, and European and Japanese geese. 



Symptoms. Young turkeys and chickens, a few days old, are 

 found to open the mouth frequently, gasp for breath, sneeze and 

 attempt to swallow. This has .secured for the disease the name of 

 ^' gapes.'' Breathing is oppressed and wheezing, accompanied by 

 an abortive cough, the mouth is filled with glairy mucus, in 

 which the expectorated forked worm may sometimes be found, 

 the patient is dull, with drooping wings. Appetite may or may 

 not be impaired. There is little or no fever, but emphysema of 

 the neck and chest has been noted (Reune). It is claimed that 

 the worm can be seen by holding up the bird between the eye and 

 the sun and looking through the trachea. It can often be drawn 

 out by a loop of horse hair twisted in the trachea and withdrawn. 



Mortality. This is greatest in the small downy chicks, and if 

 the patient survives until partly fledged it will often recover. 

 Wiesenthal who first noticed the disease near Baltimore in 1797 

 states that it destroyed 80 per cent, of the fowls on many old es- 

 tablished farms. Crisp says it kills 500,000 chicks yearly in 



