NEMA THELMINTHES 



205 



ECHINODERMATA. 



The Echinodermata possess poison glands which supply a venom to certain 

 modified spines, but this only affects small animals. 



The Cuvierian organs of certain Polynesian species of the holothurians 

 (allied to Holothuria argus) are said to cause inflammation of the skin, and, if 

 any of the secretion gets into the eye, even blindness. 



The spines of the common sea urchin of the Red Sea are poisonous, causing 

 painful wounds, which require a long time to heal. 



PLATYHELMIA. 



Dihothriocephalus latus, which causes a profound anaemia, is sus- 

 pected to secrete some form of poison, and, indeed, this theory is 

 supported by certain experiments of Schaumann and Tallquist. 

 These investigators found that if the worms were subjected to 

 tryptic digestion, and then mixed with food and given to dogs by 

 the mouth, or extracted with normal salt solution and injected 

 hypodermically, an exhaustion which ended in death Was some- 

 times produced. In one case there was a great reduction of the 

 red blood-corpuscles. Rabbits, however, were not affected. 



Tcenia saginata has been investigated by Messineo and Calamida, 

 who consider that they have found evidence of the presence of 

 a poison which can be obtained by pulverizing the taenia with sand 

 and extracting with normal saline solution. This extract was then 

 filtered and injected into animals, but the symptoms were not 

 characteristic. Picou and Ramond consider that the extracts they 

 obtained showed a decided bactericidal action. 



On the other hand, the rupture of an echinococcus cyst is well 

 known to produce symptoms of poisoning, but the chemical nature 

 of the poison is not known. The symptoms in man are urticaria, 

 if the dose is small; peritonitis and severe cardiac symptoms, 

 leading to fatal collapse, if the dose is large. Injected into animals, 

 the liquid acts as a cardiac poison causing death by stoppage of 

 the heart in diastole, together with various other symptoms, such 

 as a fall of the blood-pressure and temperature. 



NEMATHELMINTHES. 



Ascarides produce a volatile body with a peculiar and disagreeable 

 odour, very irritating to the mucous membranes, especially to the 

 conjunctiva. This odour is most noticeable in making post-mortems 

 upon persons suffering severely from these worms. Arthus and 

 Chanson have injected rabbits with the liquid squeezed out of living 

 human ascarides, and produced collapse and death within ten 

 minutes of a dose of 2 c.c. 



Cattaneo obtained a substance toxic to guinea-pigs by allowing 

 ascarides to live in sterile broth. Cao, Jammes, Mandoul, and 

 Boycott, however, failed to obtain any evidence of the toxicity of 

 ascarides. 



With regard to Ancylostoma duodenale, there has been much 



