400 



ENTOZOA 



G-ermany the Pentastoma was found in the human liver by Zenker 

 (' Zeitschrift f. ration. Medic.,' 1854, Bd. v., s. 224) ; it occurs, 

 however, not only in this gland, but also in the kidneys, and in the 

 submucous tissue of the small intestine (Wagner), The parasite 

 is by no means rare with us. Zenker, at Dresden, succeeded in 

 finding it 9 times out of 168 autopsies ; Heschl, at Vienna, met 

 with it 5 times out of 20 autopsies ; "Wagner, at Leipsig, once in 10,. 

 According to Virchow, it is more common in Berlin than in Central 

 Germany, During six months at Breslau, I met with it in 5 out 

 of 47 dead bodies. The Pentastoma endemic in Germany is not 

 identical with that which occurs in Egypt ; the former is the P. 

 denticulatum of Rudolphi." This clear statement of Frerichs is 

 extremely valuable ; but, as Murchison has also pointed out, there 

 is some discrepancy between Frerichs' and Kiichenmeister's record 

 of Zenker's experience. According to Kiichenmeister, the distin- 

 guished Dresden physician met with the Pentastoma 30 times in 

 200 autopsies. At all events, in the face of these facts, it is, 

 certainly, not a httle singular that no one has yet detected it, as 

 a human parasite,, in this country. 



In conclusion, I need only remark that although this parasite 

 seems to cause little inconvenience to those of our race who 

 harbour it, yet it may be as well to adopt precautionary measures 

 in order to prevent its invasion of our bodies. Indeed, it is quite 

 possible that it may be found to give rise to unpleasant symp- 

 toms when present in large numbers. As the sexually-mature 

 Pentastome inhabits the nasal cavity of dogs and other domes- 

 ticated animals, it is quite evident that the eggs of these worms 

 will be scattered here and there whenever the "bearers" sneeze, 

 or have a " running at the nose," In this way some of the eggs, 

 with their contained embryos, may be directly transported to our 

 persons, and even gain access to our mouths ; but, it is more 

 probable, that they are ordinarily introduced into our stomachs 

 along with uncooked vegetable food or fruits, to which they will 

 naturally adhere after expulsion from the animal's nostrils. The 



