196 
Oxyuris vermicularis 
is certain that many male Oxyuris have been missed and not enumerated, 
especially in cases where no female worms were present to definitely 
establish the fact of the presence of worms in the appendix. We could 
devise no plan which might ensure every worm being counted. Again, 
we could not interfere with the preparation of the patients for operation. 
This preparation included the routine administration of purgatives, and 
also, in most cases, of a turpentine enema, given a few hours before 
operation. Both these measures—vermifugal in their action—could 
quite easily dislodge any of, or all, the worms in the appendix, and in 
some cases our examination was negative when it might have shown 
the presence of worms if no preparatory measures had been taken. 
These facts must be noted in considering the percentage. 
With regard to the comparison of statistics available for 0. vermi¬ 
cularis :, we tabulate below, and compare with our results the findings, 
as far as they have been obtainable, of other investigators. 
Railliet 
42-48 % 
in appendicitis 
Brumpt 
37-40 % 
99 99 
99 
15% 
„ normal appendices (children) 
99 
3-5 % 
,, normal appendices (adults) 
Hoepfl 
21% 
,, appendicitis 
Still (1909) 
20% 
„ appendicitis of children 
„ (1899) 
19% 
„ normal appendices (children) 
innes and Campbell 
17% 
,, appendicitis 
Russell and Bulkley 
15% 
„ appendicitis of children 
(including two trichocephalids) 
Oppe 
u /o 
„ appendicitis 
Ney 
3% 
,, appendicitis 
Rostewsew 
1-8% 
,, normal appendices (adults) 
Erdmann 
1% 
„ appendicitis of children 
As previously stated, Erdmann’s figure is unreliable, because a 
thorough examination was not made in every case. 
One must also bear in mind that many of the percentages in the 
above table were arrived at from a study of a small number of appen¬ 
dices, and therefore the figures are not strictly accurate in every case. 
It will be seen that the figures given vary greatly from exceedingly 
low percentages to correspondingly high ones, and whether this has to 
do with climatic conditions it is not yet possible to say, but in every 
instance it seems that the percentage of worms is higher in cases of 
appendicitis than in those of normal appendices. More statistics, 
however, must be available before anything definite can be put forward. 
