Specific and non-specific esterases have been localized in sections and whole mounts of Avitellina lahorea, an intestinal parasite of sheep and goats. Non-specific esterases (NSE) were found in the sucker muscles, post-acetabular ganglia, nerve trunks, tegument, excretory canals, cirrus sac, vagina, uterus and the inner membrane of the embryophore. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was observed in all the above organs, including vas deferens and sperm ducts, but was absent from excretory canals and eggs. Tests with acetylthiocholine iodide (AThChI) revealed the nervous system, vas deferens, sperm ducts, uterus, cirrus sac and the vagina. The intensity of activity of AChE and AThChI was weak compared to NSE.

The effects of crowding on growth, reproduction, rate of recovery and site of infection of Philophthalmus nocturnus were investigated by infecting various groups of day-old chicks with 25, 50,75, or 100 excysted metacercariae and examining them at 10 or 25 days post-infection. Considerable reduction in the body length and the size of the gonads was noticed in flukes grown under crowded conditions. Crowding also caused some change in the habitat of flukes, but had no effect on their rate of recovery. Very few flukes reached the ovigerous stage under overcrowded conditions and none reached the embryonated larval stage.

The writer in 1934 briefly described this nematode which was collected from the common musk-shrew at Hyderabad Deccan, creating for its reception the new genus and species Gastronodus strasseni. The following account deals with the anatomy of the worm and the close relationship which exists between the genera Gastronodus Singh and Spirocerca Railliet and Henry, 1911.

This worm is of common oċcurrence in the musk-shrew, Crocidura caerulea, at Hyderabad and it forms largo nodules on the stomach walls of the host. In certain cases smaller nodules were also found in the mesentery. These are medium sized worms and when freshly extracted appear blood red in colour. The body is coiled and generally flexed at the extremities. In males and young adult females the body is of almost uniform diameter with blunt anterior and posterior ends, whereas in fully grown and gravid females the posterior 2/3 of the body is distinctly thicker than the anterior portion. The males are slender and smaller than the females. The cuticle is thick and bears fine transverse striations which are set quite close together. Irregular transverse wrinkles are also present on the body wall. The cervical papillae are located at the level of the nerve-ring and have the appearance of fine bristles.

The isoenzymatic pattern of glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) has been described for Ascaris suum, a parasite of Sus scrofa domestica. Only one band of activity has been revealed, suggesting a monomorphic condition for this enzyme. Also, the structure of GDH has been assayed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE) and silver staining. Only one subunit was present with a molecular weight of about 55 000. A hexameric structure for GDH of A. suum is suggested.

Since the introduction of carbon tetrachloride for the treatment of the hookworm infestations of man it has been ascertained that in certain conditions fatal poisoning may follow oral administration of the drug. If carbon tetrachloride is given in cases of alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver, or if alcohol is taken immediately after the drug, severe gastro-intestinal symptoms are to be anticipated with death in two or three days. Davis (1924) showed that in dogs the toxicity of the drug was intimately associated with certain dietetic factors. He found that a high carbohydrate diet enabled the liver to withstand relatively large doses of the drug. High protein diets also protected the liver against injury (although less efficiently than carbohydrate) but an “all-fat” diet was invariably associated with extensive damage to the hepatic parenchyma. Lambert (1923) while carrying out hookworm treatment on a large scale in Fiji found that where a patient was heavily infested with Ascaris lumbricoides as well as with hookworm it was unwise to exhibit carbon tetrachloride without first getting rid of the ascarids.

Ring-necked pheasants were exposed to artificially limited 10-day infections with heterakids either from 0-10 or 10–20 days old. The number and length of worms developing from a subsequent challenge dose were compared with those in nonimmunized control birds and with those in birds that had been exposed to a continuous immunizing infection for a total of 49 days: 28 days before challenge and 21 days during the challenge infection.

Laboratory experiments have shown that cysts of the eelworm Heterodera schachtii adhering to seed potato tubers are killed by immersion of the tubers for 6 hours in 5% formalin solution (Franklin 1939). Further experiments were designed to determine what effect such treatment has on the seed tubers and on the resulting crop.

1. A new species Choanotaenia larimarina sp.nov. from the greater black-backed gull (Larus marinus) is described.

2. A comparison is made with other species of Choanotaenia which possess a reticulate uterus.

3. Because the uterus breaks down in only one of these four species it is suggested that in this type of development the breakage may be due to mechanical stretching of the tubule in the gravid segment.

4.If this be true then the portion of the uterine wall which envelops the egg is not a uterine capsule in the accepted sense.

Albino mice were infected per os with 1000 infective larvae of Ancylostoma caninum and pulmonary superoxide dismutase activity was studied after completion of lung migration. The total superoxide dismutase activity per mg of lung protein was elevated by 15% in infected mice. Of the two forms of superoxide dismutases studied, that containing Cu-Zn was elevated by 44%. this suggests that A. caninum in mice may result in histopathological changes leading to transient pulmonary oxygen toxicity.

The erythrokinetics of three baboons were studied over a twelve week period after infection with 3 000 cercariae of S. mansoni and compared with three uninfected control animals. In addition to monitoring changes in haematological and parasitological parameters several radioisotopic techniques were used concurrently to measure alterations in red cell kinetics. In particular 51Cr-labelled red cells and 59Fe-ferric citrate were used to measure red cell production, circulating volume, survival time and routes of loss.

All the animals remained in good condition despite heavy infection and the pathophysiological changes were in general mild and transient in nature. The principle alterations were associated with patency and consisted of a modest fall in haematocrit, some inappetence and the appearance of blood-stained mucus in the faeces. Red cell survival was reduced in the infected animals and this was correlated with an increase in faecal blood loss and haemodilution. There was no evidence of haemolytic factors or depressed erythropoiesis having any aetiological role in the anaemia.

The results confirmed the complexities of schistosomal anaemia as well as the ability of primates to withstand heavy parasitic burdens for short periods with minimal pathophysiological disturbance.

Two strains of laboratory white mice, CFLP and LACA, were infected with the metacestodes of Taenia crassiceps. The serum from each infected mouse was tested for antibodies on double-diffusion gel plates and the number of antigen-antibody precipitin lines formed related (a) to the duration of the infection and (b) to the volume of metacestodes. There was a significant increase in the number of antigen-antibody precipitins with regard to the time infected but not to the volume of metacestodes. The pattern of development of the antigen-antibody precipitation system was also examined.

The present study pertains to two nematode genera, Pungentus Thome & Swanger, 1936 and Discolaimoides Heyns, 1963 which were collected from around the roots of Juglens regia, the common walnut tree in Kashmir. They are described herein as new species. Discolaimoides is recorded here for the first time from India.

Different groups of mice were infected with various single or repeated doses of larvae of Ancylostoma caninum. Considerable loss of larvae occurred in the immunised groups when compared with their counterpart unimmunised groups. Larval migration and distribution in the different tissues was less in immunised mice, as most larvae were expelled from the gastrointestinal tract. This resulted in a poor onward larval migration to liver, lungs, brain and muscle regions in immunised groups. The heavily immunised group infected five times was most affected and a significant lesser larval distribution in various organs and muscle region observed.

Eighteen of 56 (32.1%) wild Rana limnocharis from central and south Taiwan were found to contain plerocercoids of Spirometra erinaceieuropaei. This is the first report of S. erinaceieuropaei infections in frogs in Taiwan, with the plerocercoids being recovered from the thigh and back muscles or under the skin. Other species of frogs examined, including nine wild R. latouchii, one wild Buergeria robustus and 110 cultured R. rugulosa were free of infection. The plerocercoids were orally inoculated into four cats; three of which were each given a single plerocercoid and one a dose of three plerocercoids. Daily faecal examination showed that two cats started shedding eggs of S. erinaceieuropaei on day 8 postinfection (PI) and the other two on day 10 PI. The highest eggs per gram and eggs per day for a single worm was found to be 428,000 and 14,416,000 respectively. Only the cat inoculated with three plerocercoids shed proglottids in its faeces during the 2 month observation period.

One new species from Qinghai Province, China, Labronemella major n. sp., is described. The new species is characterized by a body length of 3.03–3.34 mm; lip region wide, offset by a distinct depression, disc-like with six separated inner liplets; amphid fovea funnel-shaped, distinctly bulged on body surface in scanning electron micrographs; odontostyle long (35–39 μm) with distinct lumen, aperture about 39–47% of its length; odontophore rod-like and long; guiding ring double; pharyngeal basal expansion about half of the total neck length; uterus relatively long and tripartite; vulva transverse and sclerotized; spicules 81–90 μm long; ventromedial supplements 19–23; tail short, rounded to conoid. It can be differentiated from all other species of the genus by its relatively longer body, odontostyle and spicules, and wider lip region. Due to the lip region being offset by a deep constriction, and the long (three or more times the body diameter at mid-body) tripartite uterus, the new species is close to Labronemella czernowitzensis (Micoletzky, 1922) Andrássy, 2002 and Labronemella labiata Andrássy, 1985. An improved key to the genus including the new species is provided.

The present paper describes a new species of Dermadena (Digenea) parasitizing Pseudobalistes naufragium in Puerto Pizarro, northern Peru, using light and scanning electronic microscopy (SEM). Additionally, molecular analysis was also performed to determine the phylogenetic affinities of Dermadena within the Lepocreadiidae. The new species is differentiated from Dermadena spatiosa, Dermadena stirlingi and Dermadena lactophrysi by presenting a curved and well-developed external seminal vesicle. Also, SEM revealed numerous dome-shaped tegument protuberances forming glandular papillae with transversal wrinkles arranged roughly in concentric rows around the acetabular region, varying in size from large at the middle of the body to small at the margin. In the molecular phylogeny, the new species formed a well-supported clade with sequences of species from the Lepocreadiidae, confirming that it belongs to this family.

This paper forms a preliminary account of the occurrence of some helminths parasitic in sheep and pigs in South-Eastern England. The rocks of the Wye district are mainly Cretaceous, while Romney Marsh, with its extensive sheep population, is alluvial. Earlier workers have already considered certain helminthic parasites of this region. The present writer uses Morgan's technique. Thirteen helminths parasitic in the gut of sheep and lambs are listed with notes, and a record is made of some other observations, including the identification of Ascaris lumbricoides and Œsophagostomum dentatum from swine.

Ligophorus kaohsianghsieni (Gusev, 1962) Gusev, 1985 was collected from the so-iuy mullet Planiliza haematocheilus (Temminck & Schlegel, 1845) from the Black Sea and the Sea of Japan. DNA sequences data for L. kaohsianghsieni, as well as its morphological characters from the Sea of Japan were obtained for the first time. Significant morphometric and genetic diversity between specimens of L. kaohsianghsieni from the Black-Azov Sea region and the Sea of Japan were not found. For the first time, the molecular phylogeny of L. kaohsianghsieni based on three fragments of the nuclear DNA ribosomal cluster (18S, internal transcribed spacer 1 and 28S) was reconstructed. Molecular analysis of Ligophorus species from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans revealed a significant phylogenetic distance between L. kaohsianghsieni and two others species (Ligophorus pilengas and Ligophorus llewellyni) from the same host (P. haematocheilus) and region. This result indicates the lack of correspondence between the phylogenetic and geographical closeness of the hosts and the relation of their parasites from the genus Ligophorus.