468 



DIPLOZOA AND OCfOMlflbM 



In addition in the living animal refractile granules can be seen 

 lying in the anterior part of the animal on each side of the mesial 

 line. From each of these granules a fine line runs posterior^, and 

 all these lines converging, as it were, into the handle of a fan, end 

 in the tail, with the movements of which they may be concerned. 



Life-History. — Reproduction may take place by binary fission. 

 The process is very complicated, the whole system of sucking disc 

 and flagella being reproduced dorsally, and then the flagellate splits 

 longitudinally, the fissure passing from before backwards between 

 the sucking discs. 



Kofoid and Christiansen have described multiple fission- in the 

 lamblia of mice, but this has not been seen in those in man. 



Encystment begins by a thin wall being excreted, inside which the 

 flagellate can be seen moving. Later the cyst becomes ovoid and 

 the wall tougher, and the contained lamblia may or may not have 

 undergone division. Conjugation is not known to occur. 



The cysts are oval and measure 13-14x6-7 microns; the Wall is 

 smooth and transparent. Later the nuclei divide, giving rise to 

 four nuclei in all, which are crowded together. 



Method of Infection. — The cysts escape in faecal matter and are 

 taken into house-flies, Musca and Fannia, etc., and passing into the 

 intestine, eventually escape in the flies' droppings, and so can 

 infect human food. 



Pathogenicity. — It is usually believed to be the cause of the 

 diarrhoea with which it is associated. 



REFERENCES. 

 Octomitus hominis. 



Chalmers and t'EKKOLA (1917). Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. 

 June 15, 142-146. London. 



Cliardiaintestinalis. 



Castellani (1906). Ceyion Medical Reports. 



Wenyon (1907) . Festband zum 2 5 jahringen Professoren Jubilaujn des Herrn. 



Geheimen Hofrat Prof. Dr. Eichard Hertweg. Jena. 

 Wenyon and O'Connor (191 7). Human Intestinal Protozoa in the Near 



East. London. 



