Councilmania lafleuri,a new amœba of the human intestine

Abstract

There exists some confusion and uncertainty among investigators of human intestinal amœbœ as to certain features of structure and activities of the non-pathogenic Endamœba coli (Loesch) Schaudinn. The points in debate are its habit of ingesting red blood corpuscles, its mobility in the free state, the existence of more than one type of cyst, the structure and location of the karyosome, the presence of cysts with an irregular number of nuclei (other than 2, 4, 8, 16), and the escape of amœbulœ from the cysts in fœces.

We believe these questions have arisen from the confusion hitherto by investigators, of two species, Endamœba coli and a new one, generically distinct, which we designate as Councilmania lafleuri in honor of the two investigators who first clearly demonstrated the pathogenicity of the amœba which they called Amœba dysenteriœ and which Schaudinn, in ignorance of their work, later named Entamœba histolytica. lafleuri in honor of the two investigators who first clearly demonstrated the pathogenicity of the amœba which they called amœba dysenteriœ? and which Schaudinn, in ignorance of their work, later named Entamœba histolytica.

This new ameba was found by us in stools wholly free from Endamœba dysenteriœ?, especially in blood and mucus strands, during sixteen weeks almost continuous daily examinations. It was present in large numbers on every day but three, and free stages were obtained in liquid stools, especially in mucus, and strands of cellular tissue therein. Continued intestinal disturbance accompanied this case of infection which occurred in a returned soldier from overseas who had been four months in the hospital in France with dysentery and had had two treatments here for Endamœba dysenteriœ, with emetin bismuth iodide, the last with salvarsan treatment also. After the second treatment this ameba entirely disappeared. Five other cases of infection have been observed by us.