I. The distribution of schistosome ova in the alimentary tract in subjects of bilharziasis

Abstract

(1) Of the 110 bilharzial subjects studied at autopsy the following organs were examined by the digestion method: liver, gall-bladder, pancreas, stomach, small intestine, caecum, appendix, ascending transverse and descending colon, rectum, suprarenal gland, mesenteric lymph glands, spleen and bladder. (2) The results reveal the frequency of infection of these organs by the ova of both S. mansoni and S. haematobium. (3) In all the organs studied the ova of S. haematobium were found more frequently than those of S. mansoni and in the liver, although S. mansoni ova are frequently found, the ova of S. haematobium are more common. (4) The significance of these findings from the clinical aspect is briefly referred to. In any one case several or more abdominal viscera and sites are likely to be sites of ova deposition, and therefore it is unwise to attribute the symptomatology as being due to involvement of a single viscus or organ.