230 
F. 8. BILLINGS. 
and a decigramm to contain 50 trichinae, a gramm would lodge 
5,000 and a pound 250,000 ; and if the flesh of a swine weighs 50 
Pounds, then its body would lodge 12,500,000 of these parasites. 
At this ratio, every person consuming a quarter of a pound of 
such pork would introduce into his system 62,500 trichinae. Fol¬ 
lowing out the histoi' 3 r of reproduction of these parasites, we may 
assume that it requires at least thirty millions of these parasites 
to produce the choleroid form of this disease. 
2d period, third and fourth w T eeks. 
DIGRESSION PHENOMENA. 
While the microscopic demonstration of intestinal trichinae 
and embryos is the^ only sure means by which to diagnose 
the disease during the first and second week, for the third and 
fouitli w r e find phenomena presented which have more distinct 
characteristics. The oedema, swelling of the eyelids, forehead, 
temples and cheeks does not become apparent before the tenth day 
succeeding the invasion. The oedema has the natural color of 
the skin, scarcely any increase of heat being perceptible, and is 
without pain. The conjunctive soon become injected and swol¬ 
len, and the eyes present a somewhat glassy appearance; move¬ 
ments of the eyeballs, especially upwards, soon become more or 
less painful; the accommodation limited; the pupils dilated and 
the papillae swollen and injected. The general inflammatory re¬ 
action of the organism presents at first the characteristics of a 
traumatic fever, but soon assumes a typhoid character, in conse¬ 
quence of the consumption of the muscular elements by the para¬ 
sites, the profuse perspiration of the patient, loss of sleep and 
food, muscular degeneration and pain. As these phenomena es¬ 
pecially mark this period, it may well be called the typhoid. 
Other changes present themselves which are also peculiar to trich¬ 
inosis, such as oedema of the neck, towards the end of the third 
week, which often threatens the patient with suffocation from the 
compression caused thereby. In other cases towards the fourth 
week, embolic pneumonia, pleuritis, or broncho-tracheal catarrh 
frequently become apparent. Fneumonia in such cases generally 
ends fatally. Pleviritis and the catarrh are not so apt to. In 
