which after the course of a few days
again sank to normal.
4. =In helminthiasis.= The first observations on the occurrence of
eosinophilia in helminthiasis we owe to Mueller and Rieder, who obtained
fairly high values (8.2 and 9.7%) in two men suffering from Ankylostomum
duodenale. Shortly afterwards Zappert stated that he had found a
considerable increase of the eosinophil cells in the blood, reaching 17%
in two cases of the same disease; at the same time he demonstrated
Charcot's crystals in the faeces. In a third case of Ankylostomiasis
Zappert found no increase of eosinophil cells in the blood, nor the
crystals in the faeces. Almost simultaneously, Siege made similar
observations.
For a detailed working out of this important branch we are greatly
indebted to Leichtenstern. Under his direction Buecklers established the
interesting fact that Ankylostomiasis in its relation to eosinophilia
does not occupy a special place in diseases caused by worms. All kinds
of Helminthides, from the harmless Oxyuris to the pernicious
Ankylostoma, may bring about an increase of the eosinophil cells in the
blood, often to an enormous extent[28]. Buecklers reports an observation
of 16% eosinophils in Oxyurides, of 19% in Ascarides; and Prof.
Leichtenstern, as we learn from a private communication, has quite
recently found 72% eosinophil cells in a case of Ankylostomiasis, and
34% in a case of Taenia mediocanellata.
It is well worthy of note that Leichtenstern was able to observe
numerous eosinophil cells in the blood in those cases where Charcot's
crystals were abundantly contained in the faeces. Since eosinophil cells
and Charcot's crystals have elsewhere been observed to be interconnected
phenomena (for example in bronchial asthma, in nasal polypi, in myelaemic
blood and bone-marrow) one must fall in with Leichtenstern's supposition
that eosinophil cells ought also to be found in the intestinal mucus in
cases of Ankylostomiasis. Positive observations on this point as yet are
wanting.
T. R. Brown, who worked under direction of Thayer, has lately
communicated the interesting observation that in =trichinosis= there is
constantly an extraordinary relative increase in the oxyphil leucocytes
in the blood, up to 68%. The absolute figures were also much raised, and
attained values (20,400 for example) which are by no means frequent even
in leukaemia.
Brown regards this astonishing phenomenon as pathognomic for
trichinosis, so muc
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