Case of cysticercus cellulosæ in the anterior chamber of the human eye.

  • Mackenzie, William, 1791-1868.
Date:
[1848]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Case of cysticercus cellulosæ in the anterior chamber of the human eye. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    Objects placed in a direct line before the eye, or below it, she saw very indistinctly; but when the light was moderated, the upper part of the pupil expanded past the obstruction of the hydatid, leaving the two lower thirds still covered, and then she saw distinctly objects held above the level of the eye. From the 1st till the 14th of October, the hydatid was an object of curiosity to numerous visitors, both lay and medical. Sometimes it was found with its head pointed directly towards the cornea, sometimes with it turned back into the pupil. In both positions the opake white colour of the body contrasted strikingly -with the semi-pellucid tail-vesicle. I tried to make it revolve in the anterior chamber, by leaning back the patient’s head, but did not succeed. Its movements were observed to be most lively in the morning, or when the patient was warm. When the patient became chilled, it moved little, and retracted its body into the tail-vesicle. The extensibility of its body, neck, and four lateral suckers, was very great, so that it not only reached completely to the bottom of the anterior chamber, but bent its head to one or other side for a considerable way between the cir- cumference of the iris and that of the cornea. With a lens of half-inch focus the suckers were seen elongated and retracted by turns. The rostellum, or middle member of the head, was also distinct, but the corona of claws which surrounds this part could not be made out. In general the patient made no complaint of pain. Of the motions of the hydatid she was quite unconscious. Once or twice she complained of pain in the eye, but I attributed this rather to the frequent microscopic exami- nations to which the eye had been subjected, than to the presence of the cysticercus. Seeing, however, that vision was so much obstructed by it, and aware that its presence in the eye would ultimately bring on disorganization of the textures with which it was in contact, it was resolved that it should be extracted. On the 14th of October, the patient lying supine, and her