660 
FILARIA IN THE EYE. 
follows :—“ In the cavity of the abdomen, in the muscles and 
cellular tissue, in the intestines, between the dura and pia 
inater (Abildgaard), in the vitreous body (Spigelius), in the 
anterior chamber (Hopkinson, Morgan, Greve, and many 
others), and still more rarely between the coats of the eye. 
In the ass and mule, in the abdomen and thorax (Gurlt). In 
the domestic cattle, in the abdomen, rarely in the anterior 
chamber (Chaignault and Gurlt)/' 
Diesing says that he saw such a filaria, and for hours 
observed it, in the anterior chamber of the eye of a horse. 
It was several inches long and very white, and in continual 
lively movement like a serpent.—Veterinary School in 
Vienna. 
Mr. Twining, a resident at Poonah, in India, for sixteen 
years averaged twenty cases annually, more than fell to the 
lot of any other individual in Hindostan. The worm of worms, 
for there are sometimes two or three floating in the aqueous 
humour at the same time, by their presence cause symptoms 
of ophthalmia, with great intolerance of light. The worm, 
he says, is a species of filaria or threadworm, called Filaria 
equi. 
Sir Everard Home informs us that Filaria equi are found 
in the circulating blood of the horse, and it is supposed to be 
transmitted through that medium. Worms have been found 
in the cceliac artery of the ass, but of greater magnitude. 
Naturalists have discovered numerous genera and several 
species—the ascaris, taenia, filaria, strongyla, ligula, &c.—as 
inhabitants of the body of the horse, sheep, ox, hog, deer, &c. 
The most succinct account of this phenomenon is by Sir 
Chas. Percivall, V.S., in 1825, and published in the London 
Veterinarian for 1828, He says : “ In low, humid situations 
in India, where frogs are prevalent, or where there is stagnant 
water, especially after an unusually wet season, worm in the 
eye is a very common occurrence. It is also seen in other 
parts during the cold months, from the beginning of October 
to the latter part of February, and especially during the con¬ 
tinuance of an east wind. The symptoms are those of a con¬ 
junctivitis; the cornea is obscured by a ‘ nebulous effusion/ 
the eyelids are closed, and there is intolerance of light. 
“ On close inspection a small, white worm can be discerned 
floating in the aqueous humour, at one time rising to the 
superior, at another sinking to the inferior portion of the 
anterior chamber. 
“ The method of treatment is by puncturing the cornea at 
its upper and inner margin, and allowing the parasite to 
escape with the aqueous humour. This spot is selected for the 
