Cysticercus in the Human Brain. By A. Brunniche.—A servant
girl, aged 43, of healthy frame and aspect, but for three years subject to
epileptic fits, came to the hospital May 3, 1851, suffering from supposed
ague. Upon admission, her symptoms were, localised pain all over the
left part of the forehead and temples, weakness in the muscles of the
face, sparks and flashes of light in the right eye, occasional dilatation of
the pupil, squinting, marked diminution of the intellectual capacity,
combined with erroneous ideas and hallucinations, slow, unconnected
utterance, frequent vomiting, involuntary discharge of faeces, slow pulse,
and weakness in the lower extremities. She had often complained of
cold, and want of circulation in the fingers; so that, at the commence-
ment, her illness had been mistaken for ague. She died May 21.
Examination of the Body.—Skull-cap thinner than natural; the sur-
face of the brain bulged forwards from the cranial cavity; the mem-
branes were thin, but full of blood. There were three cysticerci within
the cranium. The largest lay in the substance of the anterior lobe of
the left hemisphere in a cavity the size of a hen’s egg, projecting into
the anterior part of the lateral ventricle, and making a marked depres-
sion into the corresponding corpus striatum. One worm was contained
in this cavity, but in no way connected with the wall. It was surround-
ed by a sac as large as a hazel-nut, whence proceeded other similar, but
distinct prolongations. A second worm was found in the middle lobe of
the left hemisphere, near the preceding; and a third in the posterior
part of the right hemisphere, both invested in a surrounding membrane.
The three worms were unconnected with one another, and in no organic
union with surrounding parts; yet they had formed for themselves a
well-organised capsule or bag. As regards the question, how these ani-
mals or their ova found their way into the human organism, the author
believes that they must have been conveyed to the brain by the current
of blood, after being taken up from the free surface of the body. Some
authors have, in these cases, remarked no cerebral symptoms. In this
there was marked disturbance of the intellectual faculties, although the
substance of the brain was not in any way altered.—Med. Times and
Gaz. from Hospitals Meddelelser.