No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

Giardia lamblia belongs to the flagellates. Its name has often been changed; some clinicians still call it Lamblia intestinalis. The parasite can be found in every part of the world. A number of similar species in animals have been described, but it is still a question whether the mouse or the rat can be a host of the type of Giardia found in human beings. The incidence of the parasite was estimated at 12 per cent in the United States by Hegner and at about 10 per cent in Hungary by L\l=o"\rincz.1 The infection is more common among children than among adults.Giardia lamblia has a vegetative and a cystic stage. The vegetative form is pear shaped, about 14 microns in length and 8 microns in diameter, with two symmetric sides. Each side has a nucleus and four free flagella. The axostyle is crossed by a typical parabasal body. The organism adheres to the epithelial cells of the intestine by the aid of a concave peristome. No products of metabolism or foreign corpuscles can be seen in the body of Giardia ; nourishment probably takes place through osmotic processes. Multiplication occurs by binary fission in the long axis. The vegetative form of the organism usually lives in the duodenum or in the upper part of the ileum. The cysts, measuring about 7 by 11 microns, are passed with the feces. The mature form has a thick wall and contains four nuclei and a network system.