336 ENTOZOA. 



passing, one or two of the observations made by Owen in his article 

 Entozoa in "Todd's Cyclopedia" (vol. ii., p. 115). "The cases," 

 he says, " which had occurred before the publication of the first 

 description of this Entozoon led me to conceive that although the 

 species was of so minute a size, yet the number of individuals in- 

 festing the body w^as so immense, and their distribution through 

 the muscular system so extensive, that they might occasion debility 

 from the quantity of nutriment required for their support." Now, 

 the conception here enunciated turns out to be almost absolutely 

 correct, but Owen was himself subsequently led to abandon this view 

 because "no painful or inconvenient symptoms were present in 

 any of the cases" such as might have led " the medical attendents 

 to suspect the condition of the muscular system, which dissection 

 afterwards disclosed, and it is probable," he added, " that in all 

 cases the patient himself will be unconscious of the presence of the 

 microscopic parasites which are enjoying their vitality at his ex- 

 pense." Owen then quotes one of the interesting cases subsequently 

 recorded by Curling in the " Medical Gazette" (1836), in which evi- 

 dence was given in favour of the possibility of a person enjoying 

 "robust health," notwithstanding the fact of his body being exten- 

 sively invaded by these httle parasites. In the sequel, however, 

 I shall show that the Trichinae are capable not only of producing 

 pain and general prostration of the vital powers, but even, in many 

 cases, death. At the time at which I am now writing, the Hanove- 

 rian and German daily journals teem with records of the Trichina- 

 epidemic, which here and there carries off many victims. 



In the meanwhile, however, not to depart from my ordinary 

 mode of dealing with this subject, I must say a few words respect- 

 ing the structure, and many more concerning the development of the 

 Trichina. In doing this I am enabled to follow out, independently, 

 a great many of those facts which have been observed by others, 

 especially since I had the good fortune to obtain numerous fresh 

 specimens of muscle- Trichinae during my residence in Edinburgh, 

 and more particularly, also, since Leuckart has recently supplied 



