|
The purpose of this study was to observe whether the total body length could be used as a developmental indicator in female Enterobius vermicularis. A total 699 female pinworms from 1.66㎜ to 9.27㎜ long were collected by chemotherapy from infected children. And the worms were cleared with lactophenol, and mounted on the slide glass in the medium of glycerin jelly. The length of anterior end(from anterior end to posterior margin of esophageal bulb), the length of trunk(from posterior margin of esophageal bulb to anus), the length of sexual organs in the trunk, the iength of tail, the maximum width, and the total body length were measured by using micrometer in each worm. And the developmental status of sexual organs were observed. The results were summarices as follows: 1. When the total body length grew from 1.66㎜ to 9.27㎜(by 5,6 times), the length of anterior end grew only 2 times, that of tail grew 5.2 times, whereas the length of trunk grew 7 times. 2. The growth of trunk was accompanied by the development of sex organs, such as vagina, saccular sac, ovary, uterus, and intrauterine eggs. The worms under 3.00㎜ showed the development of vagina, saccular sac and only limited growth of ovary. And the out-growth of ovary was remarkable in the worms around 3.50㎜. The uterus showed marked growth in worms over 4.00㎜. Eggs began to be deposited in the uterus in worms of 6.0㎜ long. 3. The sexual organs occupied only 20% of trunk length in worms of 2㎜ long, and 27.8∼42.0% in worms of total body length, 3∼4㎜. In the gravid stages of female pinworms(7.51∼9.27㎜ long), about 90% of trunk length was occupied by the full-grown ovary and egg-laiden uterine loops. Above results showed that the growth of female pinworm was accompanied by the growth of trunk, with which the sexual organs developed in parallel. From this observation, it was concluded that the total body length was a good indicator of development in female Enterobius vermicularis.
|