65 
emaciation, witness equally their action upon the nervous system, upon the organs 
of respiration, upon the circulation, upon tiie digestion, upon the secretions, and 
upon the nutrition. While the sympathetic effect of intestinal worms upon organs 
more or less remote, and the functional disorders which they occasion can not be 
: denied, one ought not, on the other hand, to display the ignorance and prejudices 
i characteristic of a former epoch, by accepting without scrutiny ail the accounts which 
j have been transmitted to us, even when coming from most eminent men. Although 
! very grave symptoms are sometimes unquestionably determined by intestinal para- 
I sites, doubt and caution should compel us to suspend judgment in very many cases 
where the presence of worms and illness may only be a simple coincidence. 
I The absence of appearance of functional troubles, their frequency or variable inten- 
j sity is not explained by differences in the nature of intestinal worms. Txnia, Botli- 
j rioceplialus, Ascaris, or Oxyuris may all give rise to similar phenomena. The number 
j or the size of these entozoa is undoubtedly not without influence upon the develop- 
' ment of pathologic phenomena; their presence seems to be less easily supported in 
j the stomach than in the intestine; but in certain cases, neither the species nor their 
I number or size, nor the part of the intestine which they occupy, accounts for the 
variations or the intensity of the symptoms, which often depend upon bodily pecu- 
liarities and the degree of susceptibility of the individual affected; in fact, women 
experience ordinarily the most severe derangement of health, and feeble and nervous 
individuals are also more affected than those in better condition. (Translation. ) 
Davainesays further (1860a, pp. 103 et seq., in part): 
The principal symptons of Tsenia are giddiness, humming in the ears, disorders of 
vision, nasal and anal pruritus, salivation, disorders of appetite and digestion, colic, 
pains in the epigastrium and other regions of the abdomen, cardiac palpitation, syn- 
cope, sensations of a ball or weight in the abdomen rolling about and following the 
movements of the body, pains and lassitude in the limbs, and emaciation. 
The abdominal pains caused by Tsenia may be of the nature of colic or of gastralgia; 
frequently their character is difficult to appreciate. They are referred to different 
parts of the abdomen, are of varying severity, sometimes lively and intermittent, 
and are ordinarily not accompanied nor followed by diarrhea. They constitute the 
most common symptom of Tsenia^. 
Anal pruritus is also a very common phenomenon. While, in some cases, it may, 
like nasal pruritus, be attributed to a sympathetic influence, it is usually due to 
irritation of the lining of the lower part of the intestine, produced by the contact 
and movements of detached segments. Itching of the nose is less frequent, but it 
is rare that an individual affected with Tsenia does not suffer from either nasal or 
anal pruritus. 
The appetite is often augmented, sometimes insatiable; at other times it is lacking 
or subject to alternate augmentation and diminution. 
There exist very often among persons affected with Tsenia a general debility, 
lassitude, cramps, and pains in the extremities, sufficiently severe to interfere with 
the usual occupation. 
Emaciation is very common when the infection is of long standing. Sometimes it 
is accompanied with bloating and distension of the abdomen. 
The greater part of these phenomena do not have very serious effects upon the 
individuals affected; but it is different with certain convulsive symptoms which 
develop under the influence of Tsenia. These consist in attacks of more or less similar 
nature, presenting the characteristics of epilepsy, hysteria, chorea, etc., in some cases 
very intense and severe. These functional disordeis are the most frequent among 
those brought about by the presence of Tsenia and disappear with the expulsion of 
the parasite. This coincidence and the fact that the symptoms do not recur leaves 
no doubt as to their cause. (Translation. ) 
19203— No. 18—04 5 
