358 ENTOZOA. 



27. EUSTRONGYLUS GIGAS. 



E. gigas, Diesing. 



Strongylus gigas, Eudolphi ; Otto ; Cuvier ; etc. 



S. renalis, Moquin-Tandon, 



Ascaris renalis, Gmelin. 



A. visceralis, Grmelin. 



A. canis et martis, Schrank. 



Fusaria renalis, Zeder. 



F. viceralis, Zeder. 

 Lumbricus in renibus, Blasius. 

 L. martis et canis renalis, Redi. 



L. sanguineus in rene canis, Hartmann. 

 L. gulonis sibirici, Pallas. 

 Diocotophyme, CoUet-Meygret. 



General and Specific Characters. — The largest nematode helmintli at present known 

 to infest the htanan or any other " bearer ;" the male measuring from ten inches to a 

 foot in length, and j of an inch in breadth, whilst the female is said to attain a length of 

 over three feet, its transverse diameter being fully half an inch ; body cylindrical, and 

 more or less deeply tinged with redness ; head obtuse and furnished with a simple oral 

 aperture, surrounded by slk papillffiform, chitinous nodules ; caudal extremity of the male 

 displaying a simple round, cup-shaped bursa, devoid of any radiating appendages ; penis 

 consisting of a single spiculum ; tail of the female bluntly pointed, and pierced by the anal 

 aperture ; vaginal orifice situated on, the ventral aspect, at a short distance below the so- 

 called head, mode of reproduction probably viviparous ; eggs broadly oval, measuring 

 about 335" from pole to pole. 



Thougli fortunately very rare in man, this worm is known to 

 occur in a great variety of animals, especially in weasels. Accord- 

 ing to Weinland and Jackson, it is particularly abundant in the 

 kidney of the North American Mink {Mustela vison, Cuvier) , de- 

 stroying the substance of the organ, the walls of which become the 

 seat of calcareous deposit. It has been found in the dog, wolf, 

 glutton, raccoon, coati, otter, seal, ox, and horse. 



The anatomy of Eustrongylus gigas has been more or less fully 

 described by Otto, Owen, Blanchard, and Ohabert, and also, briefly, 



