CHAP. I. Of the Breeding of Worms in Human Bodies.

THAT our Bodies should become the Prey of Worms, when they are returning to their Original Dust, might be submitted to without Regret; but to be seiz'd on before that time, and even [Page 4]upon our very Entrance on Life, that In­fant Innocence should sustain the Fate of the Profane Prometheus, in having their tender Bowels corroded by these Intestine Vultures, is a Condition exceedingly deplorable, and yet so very frequent, that 'tis almost always suspected in Children on every Disorder, and not unjustly; since, as Platerus observes, few Persons are free from Worms; and Ex­perience verifies the Observation in the Dis­section of Dead Bodies.

Hippocrates has assur'd us, That unborn Infants are invaded by them; and Dolaeus in Dissecting an Infant, which dy'd as soon as born, tells us, he found a Cluster of Worms in its Bowels.

The Physicians and Philosophers of former Ages, had a very short and easy Way of Accounting for the Generation of Insects, by supposing them bred of themselves, out of some putrefying Matter, by the Assistance of Heat or Motion.

But this Account is now justly rejected, as extreamly Absurd and Unreasonable, by those, who have been the least acquainted with the great and surprizing Discoveries of the Modern Philosophers; who, by the As­sistance of Microscopes (an Advantage un­known [Page 5]to former Ages) have found, that the minutest Insects are furnish'd with all the Parts that are necessary, not only for Life, but also for the Propagation of their several Kinds, as perfect as in larger Ani­mals; and consequently, are not produc'd at Random; but are the regular Off-spring of Parents of the same Kind, no less than others.

It's observable, that Nature's wise Au­thor has given such a Propension to those Creatures, who cannot bring up their Pro­geny, to lay their Eggs in Places proper to breed them. Thus Flies commonly drop theirs in dead Bodies, Pustles, Ʋlcers, &c. because in such tender Parts their Eggs may lie easy, and find Warmth sufficient to hatch them; and afterwards, Humidity and Food for the Nourishment of the Animal. An Instance of this is related by Mr. de la Cross, in his Memoirs, p. 229.

A Dutch Woman had her Leg swoln and glandulous, about a Span from the Knee; the Chyrurgion, who had it in Cure, to know the Cause of the Disease, took off this glandulous Body to the Bigness of a Nail, wash'd it in Brandy, cut it, and per­ceiv'd therein a great many little Worms; whereupon, having consulted Mr. Leeuwen­hoeck, [Page 6]he affirm'd, they were come from the Eggs, which a Fly had lain in the mor­tify'd Part, as he prov'd in the following Manner; He put these Worms into a Box, with a Piece of raw Beef, which was soon consum'd by them, as well as the glandu­lous Body, wherein they were hatch'd; He fed them three several times, and five Days after, viz. July 31, he found his Box empty; but having look'd carefully about the Room, he recover'd some of these Worms, that would eat no more, and were already grown to the length of ones Nail: He put them on a Paper, cover'd with a large Glass; and the next Day, in the Morning, he ob­serv'd one of these Worms shortned, but encreas'd a third Part in Bulk, so that it had something of the shape of a Tun: In the Evening, he perceiv'd four others in the same Posture, which from White became Red.

Aug. 11. The Cods of these Worms were all black, he open'd one of them, whence he took out a perfect Fly, that was yet wet and motionless: He observ'd, that besides the Cod, this Insect was wrap'd up in a very thin Membrane. He open'd this un­timely Fly, and found a great quantity of Eggs in its Body.

Aug. 15. All the Flies inclos'd in the Glass were hatch'd, and at the same time he per­ceiv'd other Flies against the Glass-Windows of his Chamber, which he had suppos'd to have come from those Worms, which he had not retriev'd. In feeding these Infects, most part dy'd, or fled away: So that, Sept. 7. he had but Two left, that were probably Male and Female, for they laid 145 Eggs; some of which he caus'd to be hatch'd in less than 24 Hours, by carrying them in his Pocket, shut up in a Box.

The Learn'd Baglivi, Physician at Rome, in a Letter to Mr. Andry at Paris, writes thus concerning the Breeding of Worms. The Beginning and Original of all Animals and Vegetables is from an Egg; for what else are the Seeds of Plants but Eggs, in which all the Rudiments of the future Plant are contracted, as it were, into a short Compen­dium? And those, by Virtue of the Fermen­tation of the Nutritive Juice, by the Ela­stick Power of the Air, and the double Warmth, one of the Sun, and the other of the central Warmth of the Earth, the great Mother of all, are uncover'd by little and little; and their Fetters being as it were loos'd, they grow, and arrive in due time to such a Bulk, as great as is allotted to every sort of Plant by the Laws of Nature.

If all Philosophers and Physicians think thus concerning Vegetables, much more must they think so of living Creatures, not only of those that are call'd Perfect, but of the Imperfect also, which are commonly call'd Insects. For besides, that there is the same equal Order in all Things, and that all come from one Principle, and after a cer­tain general Circuit, end all in one again; Insects, by an admirable Connexion and Construction of Parts, and by a more no­ble Exercise of vital Operations, do not only, in no wise, give place to Plants, but far excel them.

Wherefore, since no Man says that Plants rise from Putrefaction, they ought not in Reason to deduce the Original of Insects, and other baser Animals from thence. For 'tis a shame to Philosophers and Physicians, in this most happy Age of Sciences, where­in the Causes of Things are illustrated by Experiments, and solid Precepts of the Ma­thematicks, to ascribe to the fortuitous Chance of Putrefaction, that which the con­stant and perpetual Law of Nature, remain­ing in its Seeds, rules and directs.

For 'tis not Putrefaction that produces im­perfect living Creatures, but the Heat and Fermentation of the Things putrefying, that [Page 9]makes fruitful the Seeds of Things spread all over the World, if I may be allow'd so to speak; or rather, it stirs up, and revives the imperceptible Parts of the future living Creature in the Egg; and, as it were, in­spires 'em with the first Life, in the same manner with the Heat of the Sun, or that of brooding Hens.

What we have said of Insects in gene­ral, may be aptly apply'd to the Worms bred in Human Bodies, seeing they are not generated by putrefying Humours; but the Worms Eggs lying hid in the Intestines, are enliven'd, and brought forth by the same Means.

CHAP. II. Of the several Kinds of Worms bred in Human Bodies.

THESE pernicious Animals differ greatly, not only among themselves, as to Shape, and other Circumstances; but also in respect of the several Parts of the [Page 10]Body they possess, and whence they receive their Denomination.

Thus the Cephalick breed in the Head, where they occasion violent Pains, Distra­ctions, and sometimes contagious Distem­pers; Sennertus mentions a Person afflicted with an Head-Ach violent to Distraction; when after seven Days Continuance, and the Patient almost dead with the Pain, a Worm came out of his right Nostril, above a Span long, after which he soon recover'd.

Mr. Andry says, he knew a Man, who being cur'd of a Venereal Disease, complain'd afterwards of an unsufferable Pain in his Head; for which his Skull was trepan'd, and a little short Worm was found upon the Dura-mater; which being taken out, the Pa­tient recover'd a persect Health.

Such another Case is related by Forestus, only the Worm he speaks of was Black.

Hild-sheim tells of a Person, who voided Thirteen long Worms alive, and Woolly like a Caterpiller from his Nostrils, Ears and Mouth.

C. Gemma reports of a Matron dying of a Pestilential Fever, whose Head being open'd, [Page 11]there appear'd abundance of Worms, both in the Substance of the Brain, and between the Coverings, and also Swarms of Insects like Bugs.

But the Account which F. Angelinus sent his Friend is wonderful, concerning a Person who had an Epidemical Fever, and was restless eight Nights; when, upon his Re­covery, he was troubled with an Itching in his right Nostril; and soon after there came out of it a Worm as long as ones little Fin­ger, its Body thick and red, its Head black and hard, with two sharp Arms like those of a Scorpion; six Feet towards the Head, and some small ones towards the Tail, on which it walk'd very briskly; it liv'd four Days without Food.

Kerckingius in his Anatomical Observations, gives us the Figure of an Hairy horn'd Worm, which came out of the Nostril of a Woman at Amsterdam, on the 21st of Sept. 1688. which he kept alive 'till the 3d of October, without giving it any Food: And which is very Remarkable, it brought forth another Worm before it dy'd.

A Pestilential Fever rag'd at Beneventum, and swept off abundance of People; at length the Physicians opening the Head of one that [Page 12]dy'd of it, found a little live Worm very short, and all over red; and having try'd several Things to kill it, found nothing ef­fectual but the Decoction of Radishes in Malmsey Wine, which was no sooner pour'd on the Worm but it dy'd; after which they administred the same Remedy to all their Patients, and almost all recover'd.

Schenckius also relates, That in the Year 1571. and Epidemical Fever rag'd in Ancona, which caus'd a furious Giddiness, and Death on the third or fourth Day. All the Physi­cians of the Place confess'd they did not understand the Disease, and consequently knew not how to cure it. A rich young Man finding a Periodical Pain beginning in his Head, became apprehensive of being seiz'd with the Distemper; and being fright­ed by the ingenuous Acknowledgment of the Physicians, left the Country, and went to Venice; where calling for a Consultation of the most Learned Physicians, one of them asserted, that a Worm in the Brain was the occasion of those Periodical Pains, which were so violent in the Paroxysm, without disturbing his Reason or Memory, that it seem'd as if his Head had been bored with an Iron.

They administred several Things without Effect, so that he dy'd in three Days time after his Arrival. They open'd his Head, and found on the Right side, under the Pia­mater the Head of a Worm, which by Rea­son of the cold Air, immediately retir'd in­to the Substance of the Brain. They then cut open the Ventricles of the Brain, and trac'd out the Worm, which was all over Red, as long as one's Fore-finger; the Head black and pointed, and the Neck Hairy.

Amatus Lusit. took a Worm out of the in­ner Corner of a Girl's Eye; 'twas half a Span long, white, and alive when taken out.

Sometimes Worms are found in the Ear, as in a Girl of Ten Years old, who was afflicted with the Evil, and had a violent Pain in the Right Ear, which suppurated from time to time, and sometimes she be­came Deaf. Mr. Andry, after a fruitless Ap­plication of several Remedies, suspected Worms, and apply'd an Ointment for that Purpose; whereupon abundance of small Worms came forth, they were yellow, long, and very slender.

Kerkingius gives an Account of five Worms, which came from a Man's Ear in the Year 1663. very much like Hog-Lice.

There are Worms which breed under a Crust, that covers the surface of the Teeth. They are very small, and have a round Head, mark'd with a black Point, the other Part of their Body being long and slender. These Worms corrode the Teeth by degrees, and occasion a Stink, but no violent Pain. They are call'd Dentarii.

Even the Liver has been observ'd to en­tertain these Insects, so Casper Bauhinus re­lates, That in October 1578. several small Worms were found in the Liver of a Child of two Years of Age, that dy'd of the Small-Pox: They were red, round, some­what long and soft; it seem'd strange to several Physicians, who were present at the opening: But it may be consider'd, that there may be several Accidents, wherein the Gall in the Liver may be so much al­ter'd, as to lose very much of its Bitter­ness, and thereby permit the Ingendring of Worms.

They sometimes breed in the Heart, oc­casioning violent Pains, Swoonings and sud­den [Page 15]Death. Thus Sphererius writes, That a Florentine Gentleman discoursing one Day with a Stranger, in the Great Duke of Tus­cany's Court, drop'd down dead, on a sud­den; and his Body being open'd on Suspi­cion of Poison, a live Worm was found in the Heart.

The Pleurisy has been often observ'd to be occasion'd by Worms. Gabucinus visited a Maid, seiz'd with a Pleurisy, and observing her cold and hot reciprocally, and in her hot Fits one of her Cheeks very red, the other continuing pale, suspecting Worms, he pre­scrib'd her a Medicine for that purpose, which, brought away a great Number of Worms, and thereupon the Pleurisy left her.

Several ancient Men, as Quercitan testifies, defunct, of Pleurisies, had their Intestines full of large Worms, which he concluded the Cause of that Distemper.

Dr. Loss, in his Observations, relates such a Case of a Youth about Fourteen Years of Age, of a thin and bilious Constitution, who in a very sharp Winter, having got­ten Cold, was seiz'd with a true Pleurisy, attended with a continual Fever; a prick­ing Pain in his lest Breast, reaching to his [Page 16]Throat, a difficulty in Breathing, a violent Cough, and Spitting of Blood; his Body was by Intervals cold and hot, with a Red­ness in his Cheeks, and a great Restlessness. About the fifth Day of the Disease, being Costive, a Glister of Milk was injected, which brought away five Worms, which were Teretes; wherefore with some Alte­ration of the Medicines, which were before prescrib'd, the following Powder was ex­hibited.

& Scord. card. ben. a ℈ j Corallin. ℈ ij C.C.C. ʒ j Rhabarb. ℈ 4 Sal Centuar. ℈ j Dose ʒ ss.

After which Worms came away daily, in all above Thirty, and he recover'd.

Dr. Andry had so remarkable a Case of this sort, that it put him upon Writing an en­tire Book on the Subject of Worms. The Case was this, On the 4th of June, 1698. a young Man, about Thirty Years of Age, was seiz'd with a Fever, great Pain in his Side, Spitting of Blood, and Difficulty of Breathing. He began the Cure by Opening a Vein, and repeated the same the next Day, on the 3d he sweated, on the 4th he seem'd to be much better; but from thence to the 5th he had a Delirium, which went off the next Morning. The Delirium not being [Page 17]preceded by the usual Signs, occasion'd a Suspicion of Worms, and finding withal a great many in his Excrements by Stool, he prescrib'd a purging Medicine the next Morning (which has been very successful in that Case) an Hour after the taking it, the Patient found something stir in his Bo­dy, which Motion continu'd two Hours, and determin'd in the Issuing forth of a live Worm, or rather Link of Worms, four Ells three Inches in Length, being the Cu­curbitini, which are particularly describ'd, p. 34.

Sometimes we meet with 'em in the Blood, where they obstruct the Orifice in Bleeding; so a Chirurgion at Paris, whilst he was Bleeding a Patient, found the Blood stop on a sudden; and turning up the Arm to find the Cause, he saw an horned Worm as long as an Earwig, which burst out with Violence along with the Blood.

Such another Accident is related by Mr. de la Crose, in his Memoirs, of Mr. du Puy, a French Physician; who being present at the Bleeding of a Lady, his Patient, the Blood, after it had sprung out above two Ounces, stop'd on a sudden; and as he was looking for the Cause of it, he per­ceiv'd an Heterogeneous Body that stop'd [Page 18]the Orifice; whereupon taking the Chirur­gion's Forceps, he drew out a Worm as big as could come out of the Incision.

He accounts for its coming there in the following Manner: The Egg of some fly­ing Insect had been swallow'd by the Pa­tient in her Food, and being descended in­to the small Guts, went with the Chile into the Milky Veins, through all the Pores of the filtrating Glandules, the Heart, Lungs, Aorta, 'till arriving at last to the Extremities or the Fingers, it remain'd there among their small Arteries and Veins, and was hatch'd out by the most conve­nient and natural Heat of the Blood and Flesh. Having thus gotten the Life and Motion of a Worm, it swam for greater Ease and Room into the Arm; and follow­ing still the cherishing Liquor, wherein it was bred, it came at length to the Inci­sion of the Vein, whence Mr. du Pay ex­tracted it.

They have been often seen in the Urine, and of various Kinds; some like Hog-Lice, others like Mites in Cheese, some like Leeches, others like Grass-Hoppers; of which last sort was that voided by Count Mansfield, when he lay ill of a continual Fever.

Vidius writes of one, who after tedious Pains in the Kidnies, discharg'd a small Worm by Urine; its Head was sharp and horned, its Back and Belly broad, and cover'd with an hard Shell like a Tortoise, its Colour black, but reddish on the Bel­ly.

Sennertus says, he saw the whole Sub­stance of the Kidnies of a Dog wasted, and only the outward Skin left, which was full of Worms like Earth-worms.

Dr. Turberville, in the Philos. Trans. No. 167. p. 839. gives an Account of a Gentle­woman, who was much troubled with the Falling-Sickness, and discharg'd by Urine a great Number of short Worms like Milli­pedes; two or three Purges were prescrib'd her, and still in every Water that was brought the Physician, he found, Eight, Ten, or more of those Worms; they ap­pear'd lively, and full of Motion, and the Fits continu'd daily; at last he gave her Oxymel Helleboratum in Tansy- Water, which wrought well, and was successful; so that she had a compleat Cure.

In the Philos. Trans. there is an Account of one Mr. Thomas Dent, who being af­flicted [Page 20]with Tumours on his Tongue, ap­ply'd himself to one Mrs. French at Lei­cester; who (in the Presence of Two Al­dermen of that Town, Mr. Gibbs, Chap­lain to the Earl of Derby, and others) pierc'd the Parts tumify'd with a Lancet, and drew some Blood; and soon after with a small Spatula, and another Instrument, wherewith she open'd the Orifices, she pick'd out five or six Worms at a time. She plainly shew'd them to the Spectators, as they came out of the Flesh; they were all alive, and mov'd their Heads, some­what lesser than ordinary Maggots: In less than eight Days she took out of the Tongue more than an hundred Worms, almost all of the same Bigness, except two very large ones, which she said were of a Cancerous Production. She took more than Thirty out of the Gums, which last Operation was her ordinary Practice.

Mr. de la Crose in his Memoirs, p. 223. gives an Account of one Sarah Hastings, who follow'd the same Practice at Holm, in Huntingdon-shire; and had attain'd to so great Skill, as to discern at first Sight, whether any Person had Worms great or small in his Gums, Tongue or Face: These Worms she affirm'd to be the Cause of Rot­tenness of the Teeth, of Pustules, and ma­ny [Page 21]other Putrefactions; she drew them out of any Part in three or four Minutes, with a Goose-Quill, cut like a Pen; she pierc'd the Part so Dexterously, that the Pain was almost insensible; then she threw the extracted Worms into a Glass of clean Water, where they appeared to have a round and red Head, the rest of the Body being white. He there relates several ex­traordinary Cures of that Sort, too large to insert here.

But of all the Parts, the Stomach and Guts are the most usually infested with Worms, especially in Children: However, before we enter upon a particular Descrip­tion of those, which properly belong to these Parts, it may be convenient to en­tertain the Reader with some Histories of very strange Animals, excluded the Sto­mach by Vomiting. The Accounts are taken out of the Philos. Transactions.

The first is Dr. Lister's, of a Baker at York, who in March 1681/2. vomited up a Worm of a very strange Figure; I found it ( says the Doctor) in the Blood, which came up with it; having caus'd it to be wash'd, for the more careful Examination of it; much of the Blood being Clods of a kind of skinny and fleshy Substance. Of [Page 22]this kind of Blood there was about two Pounds sav'd in the Washing, and this odd Animal amongst it: It was of a dark, green Colour, like an Horse-Leech, and spotted, not unlike some of them. I could not perceive, when I found it, any Life or Motion in it. The Girl, who wash'd it, had beaten off almost a Fin, and part of one of the Forks of the Tail, and burst its Belly; yet it was regularly and curi­ously shap'd in all its Members. The Man imagin'd he drank it the Summer before in Pond-Water, whereof he was us'd to drink after sore Labour in his Cal­ling. This is certain, he had about his Stomach, and right Side, a most exqui­site and tormenting Pain for at least four Months, which many times threw him into Horrors and Chilness, Ague like; and indeed, when he vomited this up, he was the sickest Man I ever saw, not to die: He also voided Blood by Stool several Days.

I am at a loss where to place this Ani­mal, it not being like any thing I ever saw in Nature. It was about four Inches long, and in the thickest Part three Inches about; it had three Fins on a side, all near the Head, and all of them were thick and fleshy; but the forked Tail was finny and [Page 23]transparent, and to be extended. It was plac'd Horrizantally, not as that of most (if not all) small Fish; and even Newts and Tadpoles, or Frogs in Disguise, in which Particular it differs from all, as well as in the Fleshiness of the Fins.

Besides this odd Animal, I found the Head of another of a different Shape; but the like dark green Colour.

I'm apt to think, we often eat and drink what is alive; and 'tis certain, some Things will live on in our Stomachs in spight of Concoction, as Gut-Worms bred in us, and perhaps in some Children be­fore they are born. And yet I am of the Mind, that what was accidentally swal­low'd by us alive, and that shall have the Power to live on within us (especially if it be young and tender) and yet growing, may have its Shape and design'd Form so monstrously perverted, as to appear to us quite another Thing than naturally it is; and this I take to be the Case of this odd Creature, which might have been the Spawn, or Embrio of a Toad or Newt.

The skinny Lumps of Blood vomited up with it, I think, may be easily accounted, for. For this Spawn, or Embrio of a Toad [Page 24]or Newt, might well envenom the Sto­mach or Gut, in which Part or Wrinckle soever it chanc'd to rest or stick first, and cause an Inflamation there, and have it swell'd or clos'd up within a Tumour of its own making; which in Process of Time might gather to this Bigness, and at length bursting in Pieces, come up toge­ther.

Familiar Instances of this Nature we see in Fruits or Wens, which Insects raise upon Vegetables; who by natural Instinct know how to envenom a Plant, and com­pendiously provide both Food and Housing for their Young. So far Dr. Lister.

The next is, No. 117. p. 395. Of a Girl at Sheffield, about eight Months old, who was seiz'd with violent Fits of Vomiting, which held her about a Week; and Mr. Fisher being sent for, and happening to say, that Wormwood was good for the Stomach, whilst he was gone to fetch some Things proper for that Occasion, they in the mean Time offer'd the Child some Wormwood Ale, which she took so greedily, that she swal­low'd down a Pint of it; and at his Re­turn, she vomited up in his Presence three Hexapodes (i. e. Worms with six Feet) all very active and nimble; and the Child [Page 25]soon recover'd. Mr. Fisher carry'd them the same Day to Mr. Jessop (who sent the Account) they kill'd one of them in try­ing Experiments upon it, but gave each of the other Two, the Head of a shining A­tricapella (a Bird with black Feathers on its Head) which in about five Week's Time they eat up, Bones, Feathers and all, except the Extremities of the Feathers and Beaks. Then they gave them a Piece of Larus (a Sea-Cob) but that it seems did not agree so well with them, for they dy'd within two Days after.

The last Account is Dr. Lister's, the Son of one not far from Rippon, about 9 Years of Age, in Feb. 1674. was afflicted with a great Pain in his Stomach, and continual Vomitings; a Powder was given him, wherein was a small Quantity of Mercurius Dulcis; he thereupon vomited up several strange Worms, two of which were brought the Doctor at York, one dead, the other alive, 'till he put it into Spirit of Wine, to preserve it in its true Shape. These Worms were very Caterpillers, with fourteen Legs, viz. six small pointed, the eight middle Stumps, and the two hind ones Claspers. They were something more than an Inch long, of the thickness of a Duck's-Quill, thin hair'd, or rather naked, with [Page 26]brown Annuli, and black Heads; the same for kind, that is often seen on Plants. These, no doubt, would in due time, if the Place had not hindred, have shrunk into Chrysalis's, and chang'd into Moths; as also those mention'd by Mr. Jessop, in the preceeding History, would have chang'd into Beetles.

The proper Inhabitants of these dark Regions, are of four Sorts; viz. The Teres, the Cucurbitini, the Taenia, and the Ascarides.

1. Of the Teres, or common long and round Worm, Dr. Tyson has given a very curious Anatomical Description in the Phi­los. Trans. No. 147. p. 154. from whence I shall borrow a few Observations. Tho' we are gravell'd (says the Doctor) in Assign­ing how these Sorts of Worms should come first into the Body; yet being once there, nothing is more plain, than that they are propagated by an univocal Generation; there being in this Sort, so perfect a Di­stinction or Sexes, Male and Female; and the Organs of each so curiously contriv'd, so conspicuous and plain, as shew how so­licitous Nature is in preserving, and propa­gating the meanest Species.

This Worm, which Children are usually troubled with, is usually a Foot long, the Male generally less than the Female; its thickness about that of a Wheat Straw, or Goose-Quill, at both Extreams, they grow narrow, the Mouth consists of three Lips, the Anus of a transverse Slit, a little before the extream Point of the Tail.

In Cutting thro' the Muscles under the Skin, there issu'd out a copious Ichor, which is naturally discharg'd by some Pores in the Skin, and makes a Covering to the Body, which is often cast off, and observ'd as a mucous Matter in the Stools of those, who are troubled with them.

In Opening the Cornua Ʋteri of the Fe­male Worm, they were found turgid with a Milky Juice, a little of which being plac'd on a small Microscope, was found to be nothing else but an infinite Number of Eggs, tho' to the naked Eye, it appear'd only as a fluid Body.

By Comparing that small Quantity, I did observe, and in which I could distinguish so many Eggs, with the whole Quantity contain'd, in both the Cornua, I cannot guess there could be fewer than Ten Thou­sand [Page 28]in each Female Worm, which suffici­ently accounts for that prodigious Number of Worms, sometimes observ'd to be bred in Animal Bodies; and were it not that the greatest Part of the Litter of this Worm is usually carry'd forth by the Faeces, it could not be avoided, but we should be de­vour'd by such a multiparous Enemy, bred in our own Bowels; of whose pernicious Effects, some of the following Instances are fatal Proofs.

Dr. Preston, in the Philos. Trans. p. 326. No. 224. relates, That in Dissecting a Boy of Nine Years of Age, who dy'd suddenly, being seiz'd with a Fit of Vomiting; be­sides, a great many other Disorders of all the Bowels, they found a Worm in the Sto­mach about nine Inches long, and a Line and a half broad.

Dr. James Burrows reports, in the Philos. Trans. No. 264. p. 598. That in May or June 1700. a Labouring Man of middle Age at Stanton, seven Miles from Bury, had for many Days together so inordinate an Appetite, that he eat up an ordinary Leg of Veal roasted at a Meal. He would eat Sow-Thistles, and divers other Herbs, as greedily, during the time his Bulimia lasted, as the Beasts that use such Food; [Page 29]and all he could get was little enough to satisfy his Hunger, 'till at length he voided divers Worms, as long, and as big about as a Tobacco-Pipe; after which, his Ap­petite declin'd by degrees, 'till it came to the common Rate of others.

We have also an Account, in the same Place, of a Dissection perform'd by the Sieur Soye, in an Hospital, on the Body of a Servant Maid, about twenty six Years of Age, who was from time to time seiz'd with a Bloody-Flux. He found the Colon, and part of the Mesentery ulcerated, the Mouth of which Ʋlcer was so large, that one might easily thrust in his Fist at it, and 'twas stop'd with a Clew of Worms greater than it.

Dr. Loss, in his Book of Observations writes, That the Son of Sir Lewis Dive, a Child of a good Constitution of Body, af­ter an Indisposition of two or three Days, attended with a dry Cough, and a restless Condition, especially in the Night, with continual Cryings, was at length seiz'd with violent and continual Convulsions, whereof in three Days he dy'd. In cut­ting open the Body to discover the Cause, they were soon satisfy'd, when they found the Duodenum quite eaten thro' by a Teres, [Page 30]or long Worm, which was taken out a­live.

Dr. Willis, in his Book of Fevers tells us, He knew one in an acute Fever, who was molested with continual Swoonings, 'till he vomited up a long round Worm; and there­upon his Swoonings left him.

Examples of this Kind are very nume­rous, and 'tis no wonder to meet with this Species in their proper Soil; but the Ac­count which Dr. Lister has publish'd in the Philos. Trans. is very surprizing; viz. In April 1673. a Chyrurgion at York brought him about twenty Worms, which he had just taken out of an ulcerated Ancle of a Girl about eight Years of Age; she had been in great Misery some Months, and had been sent up to London, where she was touch'd and dress'd for the Evil; some­time after her Return, her Pain continu­ing, a young Puppy was open'd, and ap­ply'd to the Sore. The Chyrurgion, who took off the Puppy, found it to his great Surprize full of Worms, at least sixty in Number, of the Species of the Teretes, which Children familiarly void from the Guts. They were between three and four Inches long, all about an equal Bigness, as of one Brood, something thicker than a Duck's-Quill, [Page 31]very sharp at both Ends; stiff, and exactly round, and yet could move, and twist themselves visibly enough. The Leg was sound, all but the Ancle, which was vastly swell'd, and the Girl otherwise hear­ty, and well colour'd.

2. The Taenia, or Tape Worm, so call'd from its Resemblance to a Tape or Rib­bon, is broad and flat, and white; its Thinness renders it diaphanous, its Length is very uncertain, because its Substance be­ing very soft and tender; it usually breaks off when it comes away, so that 'tis very rare to find it entire; the whole is proba­bly the Length of all the Bowels, that is, seven times the Length of the Man; but lying very much folded together, takes up but little Room; it usually comes away Piece-meal, seven or eight Foot long, some­times nineteen, twenty three, thirty; forty five Foot of it has been found broke off at a time; it grows gradually smaller towards the Tail, which terminates in a very small and long Part like an Hair; in its widest Part, its Breadth is about that of one's Fore­finger.

Spigelius tells us of a Woman, who void­ed at several times several Pieces of this Wormy, whereof two were extraordinary [Page 32]long. The first that came away, was two Yards and a half long, containing the Tail Part of the Worm, but wanting the ex­tream Part of the Tail, perhaps unknow­ingly broke off by the Patient before, part of it hanging out of the Anus; her Sister drew it forth so far, but tir'd with its pro­digious Length, she broke it off with her Nails; this Piece, in that Part where it was fresh broke off, was as broad as ones little Finger, and became narrower gradu­ally as it approach'd the Tail; its Sub­stance was soft, throughout white, blood­less like a Membrane of the Guts. Ano­ther Piece that came away about a Year after, was eight Foot long, and the breadth of ones Middle-Finger; the Joints were larger and thicker, the Incisures wider, and the Sides more jagged.

Fabricius gives a Description of the like Sort of Worm, which a Woman of twenty Years of Age voided, upon taking a Purg­ing Medicine, which was twenty Spans long; one of the Extreams was as slender as a Thread, the other broad.

The same Author relates the following History.

A Lady at Lausanne, in France, very subject in her Youth to Palpitations of the Heart; and after a sort of Purge she us'd to take, she voided sometimes very long Pieces of Worms. After she was marry'd, and began to have Children, her Palpita­tions left her, only she was troubled with a Lienteria; during which, she voided down­wards several Pieces of Worms; some six, some nine, others ten Spans long. Every time she voided these Pieces, she felt the Worms break in her Bowels; one Day, af­ter taking her Remedy, she voided a Piece of Worm seven Ells long; and a few Days after, another Piece, without perceiv­ing as before that any thing broke; from which time she became perfectly well. All the Pieces put together, would make above twenty Ells.

Olaus Borrhicius tells us, That a Patient of his has voided eight hundred Foot of this Worm in several Pieces; and that hi­therto, he has not met with the Head; for the Patient declar'd, that always in the Voiding, he perceiv'd it break off.

A Sucking-Child (by the Relation of Casp. Wolphius) brought forth a broad Worm, at least three Ells long.

3. The Cucurbitinj, or spurious jointed Tape Worm; Vallisnerius, an Italian Physi­cian, has publish'd a very large and accu­rate Description of this Species of Gut-Worms, the Result of his indefatigable In­dustry, from whom I have taken this Ac­count following. Anno 1706. visiting a Jewess, twenty five Years of Age, three Months gone with Child (who, like many of that Nation, was incident to broad Worms, which in her third or fourth Month, usually occasion'd her to Miscarry; but when she was not with Child, they never gave her any Disturbance. She often void­ed, by Vomiting and Stool, many of these Worms, as well singly as link'd together, in the manner of a Chain:) She had just discharg'd a very long Chain of these Worms, besides several singly. He separated with­out much Pains, many of these from each other in that Part which was largest; but observ'd, they were very strictly joyn'd to­gether.

Every one of these consisted of a Mem­branous, soft, white, shining, flexible and slippery Matter; the upper Part smaller than the lower.

In the upper Side of each there arise two very small Prominences, which, when press'd with the Fingers, feel like little Horns, or crooked Thorns, and are con­spicuous by the Microscope.

By these they adhere firmly to the hin­der Part of the preceding Worm, in whose postick Part are Cavities fitted to receive these Prominences.

The lateral Parts of these Worms are rug­ged, and out of their Middle rises a kind of Tet, whose Center is perforated with a very conspicuous Opening, and pours out sometimes a quantity of Chyle, sometimes clear Water, sometimes a yellow Serum.

Their Mouth is in the narrower and up­per Side, between the two Protuberances; If it be objected, that if the Mouth be in this Part, they cannot receive Nourishment by it adhering so closely to the preceding Worm. 'Tis answer'd, they being fed with a fluid Matter Chyle, which penetrating e­very where, easily enters that Chink where the Mouth is, since the middle Part is not so close as the Jettings. Besides, that when the Worms adhere so close, 'tis to preserve themselves when in danger of Expulsion; [Page 36]at other times they are more closely con­nected.

These flat Worms, when single, very much resemble in Bigness and Shape the Seed of a Gourd, which in Latin is call'd Cucurbita, whence they are call'd Cucur­bitini; and being very numerous, and ad­hering to each other so firmly in the man­ner aforesaid, do form a Chain of a sur­prizing Length, which has been mistaken by several very eminent Authors for an en­tire Worm; in particular, the Ingenious Dr. Tyson, and Mr. Andry of France, the former having given a very particular and large Account of it in the Philos. Trans. No. 146. p. 113.

Mr. Andry, in Examining these Worms very diligently with a Microscope, after cut­ting them open, perceiv'd them full of small globular Bodies, resembling that Clu­ster of Eggs, usually found in Carps: These Eggs are so numerous, that the Quantity taken up with the Point of a Pin, tho' no bigger than a Grain of Dust, would ap­pear, under a Microscope, an incredible Pile of small Eggs; which sufficiently accounts for the vast Number of these Insects.

They are found in Persons of all Ages.

Dr. George Francus saw a Child one Year three Months old, in the Year 1686. in good Health, and Fleshy; who, tho' it suck'd, us'd to drink Beer and Water, after he had voided several small Worms upwards and downwards; at length, brought away a Chain of Cucurbitini three Ells long; which would have been much longer, if the frighted Nurse had not broke it off, instead of draw­ing it all out. Miscel. Curios.

Wagner relates of a Soldier, who was freed of such a Chain of Worms six Ells long; and soon after of another longer than the former.

Examples of these Worms are innumera­ble, tho' many Authors have set them down so confusedly, that 'tis not possible to distinguish whether they are the genuine Taenia, describ'd in the second Article, which is but one entire Worm, or this spurious Sort, consisting of a Chain of Cucurbitini.

Dr. Tyson mentions a Person in London, who has voided vast Quantities of these Worms for several Years together; but in several Pieces, two, three, four, six, or [Page 38]more Yards long; and says, he had a Piece by him of a great Length, voided by a young Man, upon the Use of an Emul­sion of the cold Seeds. It was twenty four Foot long, and consisted of five hundred and seven Joints or Worms, in Thickness a­bout that of an Half-Crown. The Person drag'd it from himself, not without fright­ful Apprehensions, that Guts, and all were coming out.

These Chains of Worms lye convoluted in several Places, and are sometimes as long as all the Guts, and sometimes vastly ex­ceed that Length.

These Worms have been found sometimes included in a Bag; which has been mista­ken by several for a large Worm. The Jewess, before-mention'd, upon a Time imagining a large Piece of her Bowels coming from her, tho' she felt no Pain, being frighted at it, she sent for her Phy­sician, who was himself at first surpriz'd at it. This Substance was like a doubl'd Rowler, close in every Part, compos'd of a thick, smooth, shining, transparent and mucilaginous Membrane, two Thumbs broad, above a Yard long; it was hol­low, and contain'd within it a numberless Quantity of Cucurbitini, not link'd toge­ther; [Page 39]but every one separate, their Bigness was various, they were all alive, and mov'd freely.

This Bag seems to be form'd mostly of a concressible Humour in the Intestines, af­ter the same manner as Polypus's in the Heart and Arteries, and is encreas'd by a glewy Matter, cast out by these Worms from their lateral Orifices.

The Teretes also, or long and round Worms, are sometimes found involv'd in such a Bag.

4. The last Species of Worms, usually found in the Intestines, are the Ascarides; they are very small and round, full of Vi­vacity and Motion. Their Habitation is in the lowest Part of the Intestines, where they provoke a continual Itching; and oc­casion sometimes most direful Symptoms. Dr. Curteis, in his Treatise on the Recovery of Health, gives us the following Exam­ple.

A Boy, about twelve Years of Age, was so extreamly afflicted with such formidable Symptoms, as were imputed to the Effect of Witchcraft: What gave Birth to so ge­neral a Conjecture, were the extraordinary [Page 40]Convulsions, Rolling, Screaming, violent Beating himself, &c. by frequent Paroxisms; all which soon disappear'd, and the My­stery was at an end, upon his liberally taking the Aethiops, Mineral and Purging; and thereupon voiding an almost incredible Number of Worms of different Sizes, and especially of these Ascarides; whereupon the Patient was rescu'd from his imagin'd Witchcraft, and a very poor old Woman from worse than Hanging, who was suspect­ed of being the Occasion.

Several Examples of this Sort of Worms might be produc'd out of Authors; but this is sufficient for a Specimen.

CHAP. III. The Signs of Worms from Mr. Andry.

THE Signs of Worms are Common or Particular.

The common Signs shew the Genius, and the Particular the Species; that is, when the Common meet, we say, there are Worms; and when we find particular Signs, we may say, not only that there are Worms in general, but that those Worms are of such a particular Sort.

The common Signs are fiery sparkling Eyes, livid Cheeks, cold Sweats in the Nights, Abundance of Spittle drivelling from the Mouth in Sleep, great Drowth in the Day-time, Dryness of the Tongue and Lips, a Stinking-Breath, Grating of the Teeth in Sleep, a constant Looseness, with whitish Excrements, frothy Urine, sometimes White, sometimes Obscure, but for the most part Thick and Muddy.

Frequent Vomitings, and Convulsion-Fits are sometimes Signs of Worms; that is, when the Vomitings throw up nothing but what has been eaten, and the Convulsions are without Foaming at the Mouth.

Sometimes they rise in their Sleep, and move their Lips as if they were eating: To know if these Symptoms are from Worms, observe, if they are eas'd by Abstinence; for they that have Worms, cannot fast with­out finding themselves tormented; not by Hunger, for many times they have no Ap­petite; but by Twitchings and Tearings, caus'd by the various Motions of the Worms in search of Food.

A dry Cough is very often a Sign of Worms; by this Forestus knew, that a lit­tle Girl, who had been six Months ill of a Quartan-Ague, was troubl'd with Worms; he prescrib'd her Medicines accordingly, which brought away five Worms, and her Ague thereupon left her.

A Stinking-Breath is very often a Sign; so Brassavolus, visiting an old Man eighty Years of Age, who seem'd to lye a dying, knew by his Breath that he was troubl'd with Worms; he thereupon directed him [Page 43]some Vermifuges, which scour'd away five hundred Worms, and cur'd him.

Raging Hunger many times proceeds from Worms, when 'tis accompany'd with extream Leanness, tho' the Party eat much; thus a Boy, about twelve Years of Age ( says Forestus) had kept his Bed for seve­ral Months, and was dry'd almost to a Ske­leton, without feeling any other Illness than a slight Pain in his Belly, near his Navel: The Physician was at first a little at a stand to find out the Distemper, the Cause of which he could not imagine; for the Child eat very well, tho' to no Purpose; his Urine was of a good Consistency and Co­lour, tho' somewhat Crude and Waterish; but the Pain of his Belly, together with his extraordinary Hunger, caus'd him to suspect Worms: Therefore, for several Days, twice a Day, he order'd a Glass of the Decoc­tion of Hyssop, Marjoram, Fennel, Fumitory, Centaury and Wormwood, with Oxymel, Sy­rup of Fumitory, and Honey of Roses. This Medicine, every time he took it, caus'd him to void a great Number of Worms, and perfectly cur'd him.

The particular Signs differ according to the Species of Worms.

The Signs of Long and Round Worms, are Tensions of the Belly, with Hardness and Pain, Itching of the Nose, Corrosion of the Guts, Hiccoughs, a Palpitation in Sleep, Waking with sudden Startings, or Shrieks, an unequal Pulse, intermitting Fevers, of which the Party will have three or four Fits, without any certain Order; the Eyes hollow, and sometimes red; the Cheeks sometimes glowing red, and some­times of a Lead Colour; sometimes they want a Stomach, and vomit after Eating; they have Fevers, accompany'd with Cold in the extream Parts of the Body: These Signs never meet altogether, but some­times one, sometimes another.

The Signs of Ascarides are a continual Itching in the Fundament, causing Faint­ings, and sometimes Swoonings; the Itch­ing proceeds from the Motion of these Worms, and the quick Sense of the Part where they lye.

The Signs of the Taenia, or Tape Worm, are Lassitude, and Faintings after Meat; frequent Numbness and Dulness in the Day­time, which cause an Heaviness above the Navel, tho' these may proceed from other Causes.

The Signs of the Cucurbitini are little Bodies, like the Seeds of Cucumers or Melons, found in the Excrements; I sup­pose they are the young Brood not yet link'd together. Both Hippocrates and Ari­stotle mention these as certain Signs; to which may be added shifting Pains of the Liver, accompany'd with great Fluxes of Spittle; Pains in the Stomach succeed those of the Liver by Intervals, and some­times attended with tedious Pains in the Back.

CHAP. IV. Of the Remedies for the Destroy­ing of Worms.

And they are,

1. EXternal Applications, as Fomenta­tions, Cataplasms, Ointments, Pla­sters, all which are not a little beneficial; For as Dr. Fuller observes, Worms do so securely burrow, and intrench themselves in the Foldings and Cavities of the Bowels, as to escape and elude the Impression of Purging, or other Medicines; for which Reason outward Applications are very use­ful to disturb them from their lurking Pla­ces, and so expose them to the Attacks of Internals, which may destroy, and expel them.

2. Internal Administrations, which by a specifick Quality, disturb and kill them; the Forms of these are various as Liquors, Syrups, Powders, Bolusses, Pills, &c. where­of some are Purgative, others not; in the Use of which Dr. Andry recommends the following Observations.

That the best Time to take them is in the Wain of the Moon; he confesses, he look'd upon this at first as an idle Fancy, but that his Experience convinc'd him of his Mistake.

That in the Administration of Reme­dies for the Worms, there ought to be due Intermissions; lest being too vigorously attack'd, they shou'd retire into the Ca­vity of the Gut-Colon, where they wou'd be very much out of the reach of Medi­cines.

As for Glisters, they are observ'd to be very useful, and they are of two general Kinds; Sweet and Bitter.

The Latter are of great Efficacy against the Ascarides; which (as Dr. Fuller ob­serves) [Page 49]are a small, but an almost invin­cible Nation; for tho' you shou'd wash away all by one Glister, yet a new and numberless Off-spring will quickly disco­ver themselves, being produc'd of the Seed of the former, deposited in the Rectum; so that 'twill not be sufficient to have ex­pell'd the Parents, unless their Posterity be also vigorously prosecuted and destroy'd; this may be done, if after the Ascarides dis­appear, we do not presently desist, but re­peat these bitter Injections for some time, once in two or three Days at first, and af­terwards once a Week.

But for the Teretes, or long and round Worms, these bitter Injections are by no Means proper, so long as they are brisk, lively and agile, and inclin'd to get up into the Stomach, or small Guts, lest be­ing driven upon those Parts, they shou'd occasion a great deal of Mischief there; but after the Use of other Medicines, which have made them Sickly, and thrust them down, the Exhibition of such Glisters may be very seasonable and success­ful.

The sweet Glisters made of Milk, Su­gar, &c. are convenient before the Use [Page 50]of the Bibber ones, when the Worms are lurking in the small Guts, where, by gnaw­ing and tearing the Bowels, they excite violent Pains in the Belly; for the Worms take to the Milk, being pleasant and agree­able to them, and so leave off preying on the Bowels, and are also entic'd out of their Burrows, and following the agree­able Liquor, are dispos'd to come away by Stool.