Tropical diseases : a manual of the diseases of warm climates / by Sir Patrick Manson.

  • Manson, Patrick, Sir, 1844-1922.
Date:
1907 (repr. 1912)
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Licence: In copyright

Credit: Tropical diseases : a manual of the diseases of warm climates / by Sir Patrick Manson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    cells which he had found in the spleen and in the blood ry^theposUnortem of a patient who had died of malaria. Virchow Ajras able to confirm this observation, and Planer m 1854 noted these pigmented cells in fresh bJood from the finger of malarial patients. These cells were, of course, the malarial parasites, although their true nature was not apprehended at the time The parasitic nature of malaria, which had been suspected since the days of Varro and Columella, was definitely established by Laveran, who in 1880, havin- noticed the eruption of long motile filaments from the pigmented cells described by Meckel and Planer was the first to recognise their parasitic character ' Laveran s observations were soon extended by Marchiafava, Celli, Golgi, Bignami, Bastianelli, and other investigators, but especially by Golgi who demonstrated the definite correlation betweek the devejopment of the parasites and the periodicity of the fever paroxysms, and showed that the difierent types of malarial fever correspond to difi-erent species oi parasites. The association of the malarial parasites with certain mosquitoes, suggested by epidemiological facts and by certain phases in the life history of the parasite indicating the necessity of alternation of generations, together with a change of host as in other haemo-parasites, was definitely established by Koss s investigations and the experiments carried out by the Italians and ourselves. Finally the application of these recent discoveries to the diagnosis and prevention of malaria has led to practical measures which have already been fruit- tul m good results and promise yet more. iETIOLOGY Proofs that the malaria parasites arc the cause of malarial «lisease._It is now certain that the presence and proliferation in the blood of these parasites, discovered by Laveran in 1880, are the cause of wliat was formerly and is still known as malarial disease. The following are the principal reasons for this belief:— f r