FRAZER ON T^NIA MEDIOCANELLATA. 143 



completely to the action of the special vermifuge selected. This con- 

 sisted of ethereal extract of male fern, which he took fasting next morn- 

 ing, made into emulsion with yolk of egg, and flavoured by essence of 

 peppermint. It operated briskly, and expelled, quite dead, a good spe- 

 cimen of T. mediocanellata, which measured seven feet in length in one 

 unbroken piece, in addition to some small segments and detached joints 

 belonging to the upper portion of the animal. The head was not ob- 

 tained, it seldom comes away with the joints after medical treatment, 

 at least far less often than is supposed. As these creatures contract in 

 size considerably after death, its length, when living, must have 

 reached eight or perhaps nine feet. 



The constitutional symptoms caused by this worm were obscure, 

 and insufficient to diagnose its existence, which was best recognised 

 through the constant expulsion of its joints. Close inquiry elicited from 

 the patient that his appetite was irregular, and at times craving, that 

 he felt uneasiness and unpleasant sensations in his left hypochondriac 

 region, and, though more seldom, some pains were experienced in the 

 region of the heart, and extending down the left arm. 



The proglottides at the upper portion of the animal are considerably 

 broader than long, the transverse exceeding the longitudinal measure- 

 ment by at least five or six times. Seventeen of these adhering seg- 

 ments occupy a space of one inch. They are easily detached from each 

 other, possessing slight cohesion when compared with the more deve- 

 loped and larger joints. About eight inches lower down fourteen seg- 

 ments were contained within the inch. After this they rapidly became 

 elongated, and assumed the ordinary appearance of common tapeworm, 

 but the ultimate large segments reached the bulk of 6-10ths of an inch. 

 This striking resemblance of the upper joints of T. mediocanellata to 

 the broad shallow joints of the rare Eothriocephalus, or Eussian tape- 

 worm, is a distinctive character of the animal. They are easily sepa- 

 rated by observing the different position of the sexual aperture, which 

 is lateral in the Taeniae, and median in Bothriocephalus. 



To sum up the principal distinctions which separate the two tape- 

 worms found in these countries, the following brief particulars will 

 suffice : — 



1st. T. mediocanellata is a larger animal, it acquires greater length, 

 is thicker, and its segments broader than the T. solium. According to 

 Kiichenmeister, when mature, its average length is at least double that 

 of the latter. 



2nd. The proglottides are reproduced with great rapidity, and are re- 

 markable for the freedom with which they escape from the patient : 

 " proglottides permagnaa et pervivaces, saepissime sponteet sine faecibus 

 humanis ex ano demissae." 



3rd. Its head, which, as already mentioned, is seldom obtained by 

 medical treatment, is " unarmed." It presents no ring of hooklets, is 

 destitute of rostellum, and studded by four conspicuous dark-coloured 

 suctorial discs or acetabula. 



