NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
395 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [II, IV
METHOD OF RECORDING TEMPERATURE.
In order to record the temperature on the upper surface of the slide, the
thermometer was tied on the slide in such a manner, that only the bulb of the
thermometer came in direct contact with the smear. Before tying the thermometer
on the slides the bulb of the thermometer was heated slightly in order to accelerate
the recording of the maximum temperature. After fixing the thermometer,
the slide was passed over the flame as required and the maximum temperature
was noted. The defect in this method of recording temperature was that the
thermometer did not record the maximum temperature until a few seconds
after the necessary exposure of the slide to the heat. During those few seconds
the slide lost some of its heat and thus reduced the possibility of recording
the exact maximum temperature.
This difficulty was partially overcome by keeping a heated air oven handy.
Immediately after the slide had been passed over the bunsen flame it was placed
in the oven to reduce the rate of loss of heat while recording the maximum
temperature. After cooling the slide, a drop of sterile normal saline sol. was
employed to make an emulsion of the smear. Two agar tubes were inoculated
from each smear, and incubated at body temperature. In doubtful cases in which
the growth on agar was somewhat meagre the incubation period was extended
to 48 hours.
The experiments were repeated several times with uniform results.
TABLE I.
Experiment No. 1.
Slide
No.
1 & 2
3 & 4
Description of
smear
Smears prepared
from heart blood
of guinea pig
immediately after
death.
Ditto .
Number
of times
passed
over the
flame
3 times .
5 „
.
Time
taken in
passing
over the
flame
4 seconds
6½ „
Staining
5 minutes c. sat. Aq.
Sol. of methylene
blue.
Ditto
Remarks
Two agar tubes inocu-
lated
by
making
emulsion of the smear
c. N. S. S. Typical
anthrax growth found
in both tubes after
24 hours.
No growth in agar
tubes inoculated from
both slides.
VIABILITY OF ANTHRAX BACILLI AND SPORTS.
396
TABLE II.
Experiment No. 2, 24 hour old culture
No. of
slide
1 & 2
3 & 4
5 & 6
7 &8
9 & 10
Description of
smear
Smears prepared
from
culture
making an emul-
sion.
Ditto . .
Ditto . .
Ditto . .
Ditto . .
No. of
times
passed
over the
flame
5 times.
6 „
.
7 „
.
9 „
.
9 „
.
Time
taken in
passing
over the
flame
7 second
9 „
11 „
13 „
15 „
Maximum
Temperature
recorded on the
slide
°C.
200 Sat. Aq. Sol.
of methy-
lene blue
5 minute.
252
Ditto
260
Ditto
300
Ditto
310
Ditto
Remarks
In each case four agar
tubes were inoculated
with the emulsion.
Abundant growth of
anthrax found in all
four
tubes
after
24 hour incubation.
6-8 colonies of typical
anthrax growth in
each tube.
Abundant growth in all
four tubes.
Growth in all four
tubes.
No growth in any of the
tubes.
TABLE III.
Experiment No. 3, 48 hour old culture
No. of
slide
1 & 2
2 & 3
4 & 5
6 & 7
8 & 9
10 & 11
12 & 13
Description of
smears
Smears made from
bacterial emul-
sion.
Ditto . .
Ditto . .
Ditto . .
Ditto .
Ditto . .
Ditto . .
No. of
times
passsed
over the
flame
5 times
7 „
9 „
11 „
9 „
11 „
13 „
Time
taken in
passing
over the
flame
7½ seconds
10 „
11½ „
15 „
11 „
14½ „
16½ „
Maximum tempera-
ture recorded on
the slide
°C.
215
227
314
315
307
312
320
Remarks
Growth in all four tubes
inoculated from smears.
Growth in all four
tubes.
No growth in all four
tubes.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Ditto.
H
TRIRADIATE TAPEWORMS FROM HOUNDS AND JACKAL
BY
M. ANANT NARAYAN RAO,
Lecturer in Parasitology, Madras Veterinary College,
AND
L. S. PARAMESWARA AYYAR,
Assistant Lecturer, Madras Veterinary College.
[Received for publication on 28th April, 1932.]
(With Plates XXXIII to XXXV.)
In the early part of the year 1926, while holding a postmtorem examination on
a jackal cub, the senior author encountered a few triradiate tapeworm. In the later
part of the year 1926 and early in 1927, the junior author collected a few more
similar tapeworms passed by hounds of the Huntclub, and these were added to the
collection of worms in the Madras Veterinary College. Attention was drawn to
these worms while going through the collection with a view to identify them.
The kennels are situated in Saidapet, a town close to Madras, and the jackal cub
was also from a locality near the kennels. It is interesting to record that several of
these triradiate tapeworms with six suckers were collected from the same locality at
one time. Leiper [1913] has described a cysticercus with six suckers and two sepa
rate rostella wherein he has proved how this monstrosity occurs, His view affords
an important explanation for the constant association of such a head with six
suckers and a triradiate strobila. A specimen of the triradiate tapeworm to be des
cribed below was sent to Professor Leiper and he is of opinion that it may prove to
be an abnormality of a new species or of a known species of the genus Taenia.
DESCRIPTION.
The worm has a head, neck and a strobila. The head is more or less pear-
shape when viewed from the side and circular when viewed end on. The visual
section of the head measures 0.65 mm. There is a well developed, though short,
rostellum about 0.26 mm. in diameter and it bears a double crown of 30 hooks.
Each large hook is about 70 μ long and 45 μ wide ; the blade is well curved and the
handle is short, having a rounded end, the length being 30 μ; the guard is more or
less square, having its free end rounded, the width being 30 μ. The small hooks,
which alternate the large ones are each about 45 μ in length and 40 μ in width. The
blade is more strongly curved than in the large hook ; the handle is very short and
is curved towards the blade (plate XXXV). The guard when viewed from the side
( 397 )
PLATE XXXIII.
FIG. 1.
Scolex showing the crown of hooks.
FIG. 2.
Scolex, magnified.
Shows six suckers.
FIG. 3.
Ovum.
PLATE XXXIV.
CROSS SECTIONS.
FIG. 1.
FIG. 2.
FIG. 3.
1. Excretory channels.
2. Vitellaria.
3. Uterus.
4. Ovary.
FIG. 4.
5. Vaginal canal.
6. Vas deferens.
7. Cirrus sac.
8. Genital pore.
PLATE XXXV.
TRIRADIATE TAPEWORM.
Hooks.
Mature segment.
Scolex.
TRIRADIATE TAPEWORMS FROM HOUNDS AND JACKAL.
398
looks like a rounded cone and is about 25 μ in length and 13 μ in width ; when it is
viewed on face, it is quadrangular in form and has a small notch in the middle of
the free border, attempting to divide it into two halves and the plane of each half
inclines towards the other, making a very obtuse angle in relation to the notch.
This gives the guard an appearance of being bifid when looked at from certain
angles.
The scolex has six suckers on it, each having a bulb diameter of about 0.15 mm.
and these suckers are arranged around the widest portion of the head. In the
parenchyma of the head, about the level of the suckers or a little behind them, the
three excretory channels originate from a common fairly circular canal, situated at
right angles to the long axis of the head. Each channel passes down each angle of
the trilobed strobila. The length of the strobila is about 25 cm. and may vary.
The musculature is well formed in each segment. The genital primordia appear in
about the 20th segment from the head. Each mature segment measures 1.65 mm.
wide and 1.4 mm. long. The gravid segments, on the other hand, are longer than
broad and are about half as long again as the mature segments.
MALE GENITALIA.
There are about 100 to 150 irregularly spherical testes, confined to the field,
between the excretory channel and the stem of the uterus in each ply or lobe of a
segment. The vas deferens is a wide, very convoluted tube and originates from
near the anterior border of the ovary and the lateral margin of the stem of the
uterus. It runs towards the lateral margin and meets a well formed cirrus sac and
cirrus before it opens in the genital pore. The cirrus sac is oval, longer than broad,
and length being 0.3 mm. The genital opening is near the middle of the lateral
margin and these openings alternate irregularly on any one of the plies or lobes of
the segment.
FEMALE GENITALIA.
The ovary is placed in the posterior field of each segment. It is trilobed, each
lobe is fan shaped and is placed in each ply or lobe of a segment. From the meeting
point of the lobes, the uterus begins as a median stem, running in the middle of the
segment. It has a fairly dilated free end. Later on, as it becomes gravid, it sends fine
branches into the plies or lobes of the segment. The vagina is a fairly thick-walled
tube and originates from the inter-ovarian field. It runs forward for a short dis
tance, then bends towards the margin and runs parallel and posterior to the vas
deferens before it opens in the genital pore. The vitellaria are situated posterior
to the ovary and appear to be trilobed like the ovary. The ova are spherical or
H 2
399 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [II, IV
nearly so. Each egg presents the usual characters of one from any taenia and
measures 0.003 mm.× 0.004 mm.
Hosts.—So far, these triradiate tapeworms were obtained from the jackal
(Canis aureus) and the fox hound.
Locality.—Saidapet, Madras.
DISCUSSION.
This tapeworm has the following points in common with the members of the
family Taeniidae:—
1. A well developed rostellum crowned with two rows of hooks.
2. The ovum has in it six larval hooks and the embryophore is thick and
radially striated.
3. The gravid segments are longer than broad.
4. The uterus is a median stem with lateral branches.
5. The genital pores are irregularly alternate.
I am very much indebted to Professor R. T. Leiper for his opinion on these
worms and for the guidance for further study on them.
REFERENCE.
Leiper, R. T. (1913). A cysticercus with six suckers and two separate Rostella. Vet. Jour. 69,
525-527.
DIPLOPILIDIUM NOLLERI, SKRJABIN, 1924
BY
M. ANANT NARAYAN RAO,
Lecturer in Parasitology, Madras Veterinary College, Madras.
(Received for publication on 4th September 1931.)
The material of the species to be described was found in the collection of
tapeworms in the parasitological section of the Madras Veterinary College. The
specimens in question were collected from the intestines of a domestic cat by
Mr. L. S. Parameswara Iyer, Assistant Lecturer, in the early part of the year 1923
but unfortunately were not identified at that time. Skrjabin described this species,
for the first time, from a cat in Turkestan in 1924. As far as the author is aware,
the parasite has not been reported from India.
FIG. 1. Diplopilidium nolleri Skrjabin 1924.
Scolex.
The worm is slender and is about 5 cm. in length. The scolex is 2 mm. in
diameter and bears a large rostellum, comparatively, having 3 or 4 crowns of hooks.
The hooks are large in the anterior row and resemble those of taenia. They decrease
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401 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [II, IV
in size in the posterior rows and the hooks of the last two rows resemble those of
Dipylidium. There are about 20 hooks in each row; the length of the hooks in the
anteriormost row is about 50μ and those in the last row are about 10 μ. There is a
distinct neck after the scolex and the markings into rudimentary segments can be
seen clearly. In the strobila the sexual primordia begin to appear in about the 14th
segment onwards from the neck. A mature segment measures 1 mm. by 0.55 mm.
There are two sets of genitalia in each segment. The cirrus-sac is long, almost
reaching the median line. The cirrus is long and unarmed. The ovary is composed
of a mass of cells and is situated one on either side, just where the cirrus-sac ends, a
little to the outside of the median line. Posterior to the ovary is a small yolk gland.
The vaginal canal is of a fine calibre, and runs parallel to the cirrus-sac and opens
in the genital pore anterior to the cirrus. The genital tubes pass between the two
excretory channels on each side,
In mature segments there are about 20 testes situated behind the ovary in the
space between the excretory channels.
The ova lie scattered in among the testes in the posterior region of the segment.
Each ovum seems to be in a sort of a capsule which has not got a definite cellular
structure.
REFERENCES.
Baylis, H. A (1929). A Manual of Helminthology, Medical and Veterinary, 100-101. (B, T. & Cox.,
London).
Beddard, F. E (1913). Contribution, &c., on two New Species of Tapeworm from Genetta
dongolana. Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 549—571.
Meggitt, F. J (1924). The Cestodes of Mammals (London), 61—62.
PLATE XXXVI.
FIG. 1.
Cercaria of P. cervi.
FIG. 2.
Cercaria of E. elongatus.
A PRELIMINARY REPORT ON TWO AMPHISTOME CERCARIÆ
AND THEIR ADULTS
BY
M. ANANT NARAYAN RAO,
Lecturer in Parasitology, Madras Veterinary College,
AND
L. S. PARAMESWARA AYYAR
Assistant Lecturer, Madras Veterinary College.
(Received for publication on 4th September 1931.)
(With Plate XXXVI.)
While working with cercariæ found in fresh water snails—Planorbis exustus
(Deshayes) and Limnea leuteola (Lamarck)—amphistome cercariæ were frequently
encountered. With a view to obtain adult flukes, the cercariæ were fed to suitable
animals. Two kinds of the cercariæ gave Paramphistomum cervi [Shrank, 1780]
and Fischoederius elongatus [Poirier, 1883] respectively. A brief description of the
cercariæ is given below since these have been described by Sewell [1922] in his
valuable memoir " Cercariæ Indicæ''
1. Cercariae of P. cervi (Cercaria No. 2 of Madras).
These cercariæ have been encountered only in Planorbis exustus (Deshayes) so
far. The infection rate in the Mollusca is not very high. Though P. cervi is not an
uncommon parasite in the rumen of cattle in this town, it is difficult to say if such
cattle were born and brought up in Madras or not.
This cercaria looks very much like a tiny tadpole, brown in colour and swims
actively in water with its tail upwards. It often extends its body or contracts it
while swimming. Its average measurement is 1.2 mm. in length including the tail
in killed specimen and 0.3 in breadth. When examined between a slide and
coverslip, one can easily observe the contraction and extension of its body. When
the pressure of the coverslip on its body is increased, the body looks pointedly oval,
showing an oral sucker at the bluntly pointed extremity and a fairly large posterior
sucker at the tail end. The tail, a muscular organ, is attached to the body dorsally
at the posterior end. The larva is brown in colour owing to the presence of pigment
patches which are more or less arranged in rows running antero-posteriorly. There
appear to be present, fine muscular lines running from the anterior to the posterior
end and these patches of pigment run in the same direction. The internal anatomy
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403 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [II, IV
of this larva, like most other paramphistome larvæ, is difficult to see owing to
this pigment and also to the large masses of cystogenous cells under the cuticle.
To a degree, it can be seen in the young larvæ obtained after the snail is dissected
and its liver teased. Even here, one cannot accurately get at all the internal anat-
omy and further, the development of the young larva brings about changes in the
organs when it comes to be a mature one.
There are two conical eyes, with lenses, pointing upwards. These are placed
anteriorly. The infundibuliform oral sucker is in the anterior end and is about
0.08 mm. in diameter. The mouth is followed by an oesophagus, which after running
for some distance bifurcates into two intestinal cecæ which end bluntly in front of
or on either side of the middle of the posterior sucker.
The excretory system consists of a bladder situated in front of the posterior
sucker in the median line. It is more or less rectangular and its long axis
is in the same direction as the length of the larva. From the bladder, a
fairly wide tube, one from each angle, takes its course forwards, its curve
being, at first, parallel to that of the sides of the larva. Both the tubes
bend inwards, about the middle of the larva, and come very near each other. Here,
there is a cross-connection between the two tubes, and more often than not, a small
process of the cross-connection points anteriorly in the middle. The main tubes
again diverge and taking a course as before proceed forwards. Just behind the
eye, each tube bifurcates, the longer branch, runs forward on the inner aspect of
the eye up to the oral sucker and the smaller branch runs behind the eye outwards
and stops short. These tubes have in them refractile excretory granules. Each
main branch then, curves backwards, near the oral sucker, and proceeds posteriorly
ending in fine tubes in the region of the posterior sucker. There appear to be
three patches of cilia in this retrograde branch about the middle of the larva. In
the tail there is a central canal which is bulbous at its end, with two excretory
pores placed laterally and the basal end of the candal canal joins the excretory
bladder in front of the posterior sucker dorsally.
The posterior sucker is muscular and larger than the anterior sucker. The
average diameter is 0.12 mm.
The genital system is composed of a mass of cells just in front of the posterior
sucker to the right side of the bladder and two small masses on the left side one
behind the other. The former is perhaps what is going to be the ovary in the
adult and the latter the testes.
The cercariæ develop in slender and elongated rediæ. The length of these vary
considerably. Many immature ones are much shorter than a young cercaria. The
larger ones measure about 1.25 × 0.2 mm. They have no ambulatory processes and
TWO AMPHISTOME CERCARIAE AND THEIR ADULTS.
404
have pointed posterior extremities. The anterior extremity of each of them has a
mouth which has a circular opening leading into a muscular pharynx and is continued
into a simple saccular intestine or stomach. There are a few salivary or digestive
glands, surrounding the pharynx, whose ducts open round the border of the mouth.
There is a well developed birth pore a little behind the oral opening. The excre-
tory system consists of three pairs of flame cells on the ventral side. Each mature
redia contains 8 to 12 immature cercariæ, which perhaps become mature, not in
redia itself, but outside in the liver of the snail. The small size of the redia also
proves that it cannot have in it developed cercariæ as big or bigger than itself
without detriment to the rest of the cercaria in embryo. The young cercariæ in
the redia have no pigment in them, but the ones that are developing outside in the
liver tissue of the snail, often show two brown patches in the region of the eyes, and
the rest of the pigment in the body develops later. The tail is very rudimentary at
first. They are active inside the parthanitæ and can be observed during their emer-
gence through the birth pore. They seem to get inactive after they come out of the
redia.
In a tube of water, when the developed larvæ get out of the snail host, they
swim about for a couple of hours and then attach themselves to the sides of the
tube at its junction with the surface of water. They secrete a gelatenous material
which begins to surround them as a cyst and the tail gets pushed out by this
substance. The larva can be seen actively moving in it round and round and
adding more and more of this substance till the wall of the cyst is fairly thick and
then the larva becomes less active. They are now ready for infection. If a few
blades of grass are put in the tube they encyst on them just at the point where the
blades and the surface of water come in contact with each other. It is obvious
that this situation is such as to be easily accessible to the vertebrate host.
On 8th February 1931, a calf after being under observation for some time,
was fed with over 200 of these encysted cercariæ collected during a period of over
a week. The fæces of this calf was examined for ova on 22nd March 1931 and on
3rd April 1931 and none were found. On 9th April 1931 the calf was destroyed
and over 40 fairly mature P. cervi were collected. The experiment shows that
the kind of cercariæ in question are the larval forms of P. cervi [Shrank 1780]. It
is also inferred that the parasites, to attain maturity, take more than 8 weeks.
The cercaria described above resembles cercariæ Indicæ XXVI [Sewell 1922],
excepting in the number of ciliated patches in the excretory tube running back-
wards from the oral sucker. Looss [1900] re-described " Cercaria pigmentala "
Sonsino [1892], and showed that these were the larval stages of P. cervi. Now
that the cercariæ under question have been fed to a calf and P. cervi have been
405 THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF VETERINARY SCIENCE AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY [II, IV
obtained, it appears that the cercariæ described above and C. pigmentata are
identical. Sewell, in his description of Cercariæ Indicœ XXVI shows a couple of
difference between that and C. pigmentata. It is likely that the cercaria described
by Sewell and the one of Sonsino, re-described by Looss are identical.
2. Cercariæ Indicœ XXIX Sewell, 1922 (Cercaria No. 5 of Madras).
This cercaria is a little smaller than the one described above, but more heavily
pigmented in a dendritic manner. It has an oral and a posterior sucker. The
mouth is terminal with a rim round it. The edge of the rim has a series of small
rounded papillæ. There are two dark conical eyes with lenses as in the other
cercaria. The intestinal cæca are short and do not get beyond the middle of the
body of the larva. The interesting feature in this also is that the large excretory
tubules are joined together in the middle of the body by a cross channel and there
is always a projection pointing forwards on this cross channel. A full description
of this cercaria is given by Sewell in his memoir under Cercariæ Indicœ XXIX.
These cercaria were obtained plentifully from Limnea leuteola (Lamarck).
They encyst in the same way as the other one described but the wall of the cyst
is very much thicker. Some cysts of these were fed to an experimental calf on
8th April 1931 and 8 weeks later it was destroyed and a few fairly mature Fis-
choederius elongatus [Poirier, 1883] were obtained.
We are thankful to Mr. G. D. Bhalerao, M.Sc., Helminthologist, The Imperial
Institute of Veterinary Research, Muktesar, for kindly examining the Param-
phistomum cervi and confirming our opinion about their identity.
The following Table shows the amount of infection of these two cercariæ
found in snails from the Spur Tank, Egmore, Madras, during the first quarter of the
year 1931:—
1931
January . .
February . .
March . .
Snails
Planorbis
100
751
6
Limnea
..
23
200
Total
100
774
268
Cercaria of P. cervi
In
Planobis
3
16
9
In
Limnea
..
..
..
Cercaria of
F. elongatus
In
Planorbis
..
..
..
In
Limnea
..
7
17
REFERENCE.
Seymour Sewell, R. B. (1922).—Cercariæ Indicœ.
Ind. Jour. of Med. Res. 10.