Miners' Worm ¹

Abstract

THE dreadful disease known as ankylostomiasis, “tunnel disease,” “cachexia of miners,” or “miners' worm,” is definitely known to be caused by the nematode worm Ankylostoma duodenale. The alarming spread of the disease in the mines of Hungary, France, Germany, and Belgium, and its recent introduction into some of the mines of this country, have necessitated a thorough investigation of the anatomy, development, and life-history of the worm. Already some 750 papers treating of the disease have been published, but only a few of these deal with the parasite itself, and still fewer with the details of its anatomical structure.