The Hemotoxins of Intestinal Parasites: A Critical Summary with Notes of Some Cases

The mechanical and reflex disturbances produced by animal parasites in the intestinal canal and other organs of the body have long been recognized by pathologists and clinicians. The researches of economic parasitologists and the occasional reports by clinical observers indicate the presence of other factors deserving of further investigation. That certain parasitic worms secrete substances that effect the blood of their hosts deleteriously has been shown conclusively by the researches of Tallqvist, Schwartz, Schaumann and others. The broad tapeworm of man which is known to produce severe anaemia contains a hemolytic agent according to the experiments and researches of Schaumann and Tallqvist. Hookworms secrete a hemolysin and an anticoagulin according to Calmette and Breton, Loeb and Smith. The whipworm Trichuris apparently secretes a hemolysin according to the investigations of Whipple (1909) and Sarin (1913)