Apr. is, i9ai 
Carbon Tetrachlorid for the Removal of Worms 
173 
in 5 cases and showed some evidence of hemorrhage in 1 case. The 
small intestine showed some evidence of apparent local inflammation or 
slight hemorrhage in 7 cases, but this number of cases is so small com¬ 
pared to the number of animals used that it hardly warrants the belief 
that the drug was responsible for the condition. The large intestine was 
normal. The cecum showed hyperplastic glands in some cases, not an 
uncommon thing, and in 3 cases there were small inflamed areas not in 
relation to whipworms present. A low-grade inflammation at the site 
of whipworm attachment, usually at the tip of the cecum, is common in 
dogs, as a similar condition is in man. 
In the writer’s experience the foregoing findings suggest that carbon 
tetrachlorid will prove to be safer for use against hookworms in the dog 
than chloroform or chenopodium, as well as more effective than either. 
It is thought that the same may prove true in the treatment of man. 
The reason why it is perhaps safer as well as more effective than chloro¬ 
form may be found to some extent from a reconsideration of its physical 
properties. As already noted, carbon tetrachlorid is distinctly less vol¬ 
atile than chloroform and has a higher boiling point, is much less soluble 
in water, does not diminish the tone of unstriated musculature, and, so 
far as tests on insects have any bearing on its effects on the higher ani¬ 
mals, it is less toxic. It may be supposed, then, that carbon tetrachlorid 
will evaporate less rapidly in the stomach and intestines, allowing the drug 
to go farther with less absorption; its lesser solubility in water will also 
retard its absorption; the fact that it is not depressant to unstriated 
musculature will permit of the maintenance of peristalsis and the passage 
of the drug along the digestive tract; and its apparent lesser toxicity 
makes it safer to the host. To substantiate part of these statements, it 
may be noted that the drug has been found entirely safe in the absence 
of any purgation, and, macroscopically it has shown nothing comparable 
to the acute yellow necrosis of the liver produced by chloroform. Two 
dogs receiving 0.3 m. p. k. and 1 dog receiving 0.1 m. p. k. passed no 
feces in the first 24 hours after dosing, and these animals showed no evi¬ 
dence of toxic effects. That the drug is not constipating is shown 
by the fact that the 3 dogs receiving 1 m. p. k. and the dog receiving 
1.5 m. p. k all passed feces within 24 hours after treatment. 
CONCLUSIONS 
So far as may be judged from experiments on 30 dogs, carbon tetra¬ 
chlorid in doses of 0.3 m. p. k., administered in capsules, is more effective 
against hookworms in the dog than any of the drugs commonly used to 
remove hookworms, even when these are used in such combinations as 
chloroform and chenopodium. It appears to be a very safe drug, giving 
rise to no evident symptoms or post-mortem lesions even in doses five 
times as large as are necessary to give dependable efficacy against hook¬ 
worms. It is cheap and deserves to be tested in human and veterinary 
