There are many instances in which the lumbricoid worms have pierced the intestinal tract and made their way to other viscera, sometimes leading to an anomalous exit. There are several cases on record in which the lumbricoid worms have been found in the bladder. Pare speaks of a case of this kind during a long illness; and there is mention of a man who voided a worm half a yard long from his bladder after suppression of urine. The Ephemerides contains a curious case in which a stone was formed in the bladder, having for its nucleus a worm. Fontanelle presented to the Royal Academy of Medicine of Paris several yards of tapeworm passed from the urethra of a man of fifty-three. The following is a quotation from the British Medical Journal: " Ihave at present a patient passing in his urine a worm-like body, not unlike a tapeworm as far as the segments and general appearance are concerned, the length of each segment being about 1/4 inch, the breadth rather less; sometimes 1 1/2 segments are joined together. The worm is serrated on the one side, each segment having 1 1/2 cusps. The urine pale, faintly acid at first, within the last week became almost neutral. There was considerable vesical irritation for the first week, with abundant mucus in the urine, specific gravity was 1010; there were no albumin nor tube-casts nor uric acid in the urinary sediments.
Later there were pus-cells and abundant pus. Tenderness existed behind the prostate and along the course of left ureter.
Temperature of patient oscillated from 97.5 degrees to 103.2degrees F. There was no history at any time of recto-vesical fistula. Can anyone suggest the name, etc., of this helminth?"Other cases of worms in the bladder are mentioned in Chapter XIIIMitra speaks of the passage of round-worms through the umbilicus of an *****; and there is a case mentioned in which round-worms about seven inches long were voided from the navel of a young child. Borgeois speaks of a lumbricoid worm found in the biliary passages, and another in the air passages.
Turnbull has recorded two cases of perforation of the tympanic membrane from lumbricoides. Dagan speaks of the issue of a lumbricoid from the external auditory meatus. Laughton reports an instance of lumbricoid in the nose. Rake speaks of asphyxia from a round-worm. Morland mentions the ejection of numerous lumbricoid worms from the mouth.
Worms have been found in the heart; and it is quite possible that in cases of trichinosis, specimens of the trichinae may be discovered anywhere in the line of cardiac or lymphatic circulation. Quoted by Fournier, Lapeyronnie has seen worms in the pericardial sac, and also in the ventricle. There is an old record of a person dying of intestinal worms, one of which was found in the left ventricle. a Castro and Vidal speak of worms in the aorta. Rake reports a case of sudden death from round-worm;and Brown has noted a similar instance.
The echinococcus is a tiny cestode which is the factor in the production of the well-known hydatid cysts which may be found in any part of the body. Delafield and Prudden report the only instance of multilocular echinococcus seen in this country. Their patient was a German who had been in this country five years.
There are only about 100 of these cases on record, most of them being in Bavaria and Switzerland.