382 synopsis of Continental veterinary journals. 
the digestive tube they become likewise expelled. Their 
migration into the muscles was never shown. The paper 
in hand says the description of the supposed Trichina of 
fowls only shows the difference between it and the same true 
Trichina which passes from the pig to man. The authors 
proved this on fowls in the neighbourhood of Pisa. The 
parasites were enclosed in a spherical oval cyst, of about a 
millimetre in diameter, principally in the peri-oesophagean 
areolar tissue or in the thickness of the intestinal walls of 
the mesentery. Though the greatest care was exercised 
they were never detected in the muscles or in the inter¬ 
fascicular areolar tissue. It is striated transversely and 
averaging 2 mm. in length; it is curled up like Trichina 
spiralis , but it may be distinguished at once from the latter, 
since it is agitated directly the cyst is opened, but Trichina 
spiralis is always motionless, and as though dead (?) The 
anterior part of its body is very narrow, the posterior is 
larger than that of the Trichina of Owen. But the true 
specific character is that its mouth presents two very marked 
conical papillae. The oesophagus and intestine are lined 
by large and very distinct cylindrical epithelial cellules. 
Around the oesophagus may be seen two cylindrical masses, 
which are perhaps glands. Zoologically the confusion of 
the parasite which has just been described with T. spiralis 
ought to cease. But ought we to accept the name of T. affinis 
suggested M. Diesing ? We must remember that the author 
has only suggested it as provisional. Now we know more 
about the matter we may, without inconvenience, adopt the 
names proposed by different authors to distinguish parasites 
which differ in their habitat, and slightly in their forms. 
Thus, T. agilissima (Molin), inhabits the peritoneum of some 
lizards; T. anguilla (Bowman) is found in the eel; T. cypri- 
norum (Diesing) is found in many species of fish ; T. circum- 
flexa (Palonis) encysted in the peritoneum (and not the 
muscles) of the rat; and lastly, the parasite which is the 
subject of MM. Bivolta and Delprato’s present study, 
which they propose to call T. papillosa, on account of the 
formation of its mouth. Its habitat is the connective tissue 
of different parts of the body of birds.— Giornale di A?ia- 
toma y Jisiol. et pathol. degli Animali , 1879. 
Note on a Discomyces of Sarcomatous tumours , by M. 
Bivolta. —In the course of 1875 the author found in sar¬ 
comata of the ox special products, which attracted his atten¬ 
tion, but which he scarcely dared, in spite of their reactions 
with caustic potash, to consider of a vegetable nature. Two 
years later Dr. Harz, with greater assurance, did not liesi- 
