748 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
Coccidia during growth. Most of the author’s observations were made 
on his new species of Coccidium , which he calls C. cristalloides (from 
Motella tricirrata) and C. variabile (from Coitus bubalis and other fish). 
There are no large refractive granules in the protoplasm of quite young 
examples, but they appear early, and do not disappear till the formation 
of the sporozoites. These granules appear to be of the nature of reserve- 
material, and to be comparable to the grains of aleurone found in vege- 
table cells. The author objects to Mingazzini’s recent proposal to call 
them endoplasm, and proposes for them the term plastic granules. In 
addition to these constant elements there are others which are much 
larger and are of a different nature. These last, which are almost 
invisible in the fresh organism, are remarkable for the intensity with 
which they fix carmine and anilin colours ; they would appear to havo 
been already seen by Schneider in a species of Eimeria. 
Psorospermosis or Gregarinosis.* — Prof. Sheridan Delepine and 
Mr. P. R. Cooper have made some observations on psorospermosis in 
rabbits. They found that Coccidium oviforme is invariably present 
in the alimentary canal of the rabbit, and that it is frequently present 
in the bile passages and gall bladder ; it produces lesions in a certain 
number only. The prevalence of Coccidia and their lesions is greatest 
in young rabbits from 6C0 to 1200 grammes weight, less in younger 
rabbits, and still less in older and well-developed rabbits. This seems 
to show that a large number of rabbits recover from the invasion of the 
parasite. It appears that the presence of even a large number of Coccidia 
is not incompatible with the perfect health of the rabbit. It is easy 
to obtain very clear developmental changes in psorosperms allowed to 
remain for one or two days in tissues after the death of an affected 
animal. 
Parasitic Amoebae of the Human Intestine.f — Dr. A. Schuberg in 
a review of the parasitic Amoebae affecting the human intestinal canal, 
refers to at least fifty authorities, a great number of whom deal specially 
with dysentery. An examination of the recorded cases renders it 
probable that Amoebae and Flagellata are very common in the human 
intestine, and the author confirms this from his own observations. He 
examined the stools of about twenty persons not affected with enteritis, 
colitis, or intestinal irritation, and found that in about half the number 
of cases Amoebae were present in considerable numbers. It is interesting 
to note that when the stools were obtained by aid of castor oil 
Amoebae were always in small numbers. The aperient usually employed 
was Carlsbad salts. 
The author next refers to the size, structure, and development of the 
parasites. In size they vary from 8 to 30 /x ; their structure scarcely 
allows of differentiation into ectoplasm and endoplasm, though their body 
seems to be composed of a finely granular protoplasm bounded by a 
thin hyaline margin. The pseudopodia are few in number, as a rule 
only one or two being seen. Development seems to result from an out- 
flow of the ectoplasm followed by the endoplasm. Many authors have 
* Brit Med. Journal, 1893, "No. 1711, pp. S84 7 (1 fig.). 
t Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Parasitenk., xiii. (1893) pp. 598-609, 654-665, 
701-714. 
