Gongylonema
Historical document, translated for reference. It reflects medical knowledge of the 1920s–30s and is not medical advice.
Summary
Gongylonema are roundworms of the family Spiruridae that parasitize the digestive organs of mammals. The article describes three species found in humans and notes a species associated with tumors in rats.
Encyclopedia entry (1928–1936)
Gongylonema (gon-gi-lo-ne-ma), roundworms of the family Spiruridae, the anterior end of which is armed with cuticular shields (see illustration). They are obligatory parasites in the digestive organs (more often the esophagus and stomach) of various mammals; they usually penetrate with their entire body under the mucous membrane. The larvae of G. develop in various insects (Tenebrio and others), including cockroaches (Blatta). In humans, three species have been noted, which are very incompletely described: 1) G. hominis (Stiles; 1921), 2) G. labiate (Pane; 1864) and 3) G. subtile (Alessandrini; 1914). One species of G.-G. neoplasticum-was found by Fiebiger (1913) inside a cancerous new formation in the stomach of a rat.
Sambon (1926) in connection with this gongylonematosis put forward the hypothesis about the role of this parasite in the etiology of cancerous diseases of humans.
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“Gongylonema.” Soviet Medical Encyclopedia. English translation of Bolshaya Meditsinskaya Entsiklopediya, 1st ed. (Moscow, 1928–1936), ed. N. A. Semashko. https://sovietmedicalencyclopedia.pages.dev/article/gongylonema/