23 I 
REMARKS on eustrongylus gigas. 
a very remarkable circumstance, since it is commonly in the 
interior of the kidney that one encounters the giant 
strongyles. They are developed in that organ, and end by 
causing its complete destruction, and, in consequence, death. 
The Stro?igylas gigas , though rare, is well known. It is not 
peculiar to the dog, as one meets with it in other carnivora, 
and particularly in the wolf and marten. Its presence has 
also been noticed, though more rarely, in the horse, the pig, 
and in man himself. 
“ The old huntsmen who had discovered the worms in the 
kidneys of the wolf took them for serpents, and this is the 
origin of the fable of living serpents being found in the belly 
of carnivores. In the dog it has been seen to arrive at the 
surface, beneath the skin near the scrotum, and to form 
tumours, which it is only necessary to open in order to 
extract them. (M. Leblanc thrice encountered the worm 
under similar circumstances.) It is probable that in this 
case the worm had quitted the pelvis of the kidney, had tra¬ 
versed the ureter and urethra, and, arrested by the restric¬ 
tion of the canal produced by the os penis, it had penetrated 
the subcutaneous cellular tissue. 
“The male Strongylus gigas may attain a length of 40 
centimetres, and the female 1 metre. It is one of the most 
dangerous parasites in existence.” 
By reference to the original it will be seen that the 
‘ report’ of M. Megnin’s paper is very much condensed. I 
have purposely rendered the translation as literal as pos¬ 
sible, consistent, at least, with a correct interpretation of the 
author's statements. Brief as M. Megnin’s paper is, how¬ 
ever, the present communication has already extended too 
far to allow of further comment on the interesting facts 
which he has brought forward. 
