m m 
[ 25 ] 
Genital System.—Female. 
The sexes are separate, and the male is smaller than the female. The 
dissection is a rather delicate operation especially in its upper part. A very 
fine pair of scissors and forceps are necessary and the whole process should 
be carried on in water. On looking at the upper tapering portion of the 
worm through the undisturbed cuticle, one finds a thin tube lying side by 
side with the brown alimentary canal. This is the single uterine tube, and 
further back are the coils of the distended ovarian tubes. These are 
intensely opaque from the distension with many embryos. 
On splitting the cuticle this delicate ovarian system can be separated 
out, and the few thin bands binding it to the cuticle may easily be torn 
through. In the distended areas the ovaries are liable to be ruptured, making 
the water quite milky, but this is an unimportant accident since the most 
essential parts of the apparatus will have been seen. 
The genitial or vaginal opening of the aortic worm of the buffalo is 
situated near to the head (.65 to .75 mm. from the oral aperture). It lies 
on the ventral surface and under exceptional circumstances can be made out 
as a distinct slit. 
These rare occasions occur when the living embryos are seen escaping 
from the vagina. 
Through this opening hundreds and hundreds of mature embryos with 
their sheaths already cast off escape. They come out in ones or twos, 
sometimes head first, sometimes tail foremost, and sometimes in coils. 
When more than one, the embryos may be seen struggling against each 
other to get through. During life the uterine tube may be noticed to 
terminate abruptly at this region but the genital opening is not obvious and 
there is no papilla. In the fresh state it can be recognised by:— 
(a.) The escape of embryos. 
(b .) A discharge soon after the escape of each embryo, consisting 
partly of fluid and partly of granular debris. 
(r.) The detection of a narrow passage representing the vagina 
which can be made out by careful focussing through the thickness of 
the worm. This leads to a slightly more dilated tube containing 
embryos all very active and all striving to reach the outside first. 
The whole view altogether presents a striking picture. 
As far as can be seen, although the opening at ordinary times is not 
evident, the cuticular muscles must be specially developed at that point so 
as to open automatically for the passage of the embryos. 
In a successful preparation two or three of these embryos may be fixed 
in situ as they are escaping from the genital opening. This preparation 
can be made by running under the coverglass a saturated solution of 
Mercury Perchloride at the right moment, then washing with water, and 
clearing with glycerine. The worm is rendered more transparent now, but 
the various embryos are not so easy to make out as they lie inside the 
single uterine tube. The genital opening, however, is interesting. At the 
site where the embryo or embryos are on the point of emerging, there is a 
swollen papilla-like process projecting outwards and encircling the embryos 
tightly. 
Picrocarmine and other basic stains bring out these points more clearly. 
The genital aperture leads to the vagina, a thin narrow passage merging 
