Multiceps

MULTICEPS, a genus of tapeworms belonging to the family Taeniidae, characterized by a larva built on the coenurus type, i.e., a bladder whose inner wall develops many scoleces; the definitive hosts of Multiceps are mainly carnivorous mammals, while the intermediate hosts are herbivores, rodents, and sometimes humans. The first two species listed below have medical significance. 1. M. multiceps (Leske; 1780); syn. Taenia coenurus. The definitive host is the dog, and the intermediate hosts are sheep, cattle, reindeer, the horse, and man. The strobila reaches from 60 cm to 1 m; the scolex is armed with a double crown of 22–32 hooks, of which the large ones reach 0.15–0.17 mm in length, and the small ones 0.09–0.13 mm. The uterus is characterized by the presence of a median trunk, from which 18–26 lateral branches depart on each side. The diameter of the oncosphere is 0.031–0.036 mm; the larva, designated as Coenurus cerebralis, reaches full development only in the organs of the central nervous system, forming a large (up to a pigeon's egg) spherical or ellipsoidal formation. When localized in the brain of sheep, it causes so-called "gid" or staggers. In man, M. multiceps was discovered by Marie and Foix in Paris (1911) in a patient suffering from loss of mental faculties, aphasia, and epileptic seizures; the disease lasted for a year and ended in death. At autopsy, two Coenurus cerebralis bladders were found; one was localized in the cortex of the cerebral hemisphere and the other in the lateral ventricle of the brain. Vital diagnosis of the disease is currently impossible, therapy is powerless, and the prognosis is unfavorable. Prophylaxis includes caution in handling dogs, the sole definitive host; destruction of stray dogs; deworming of economically valuable dogs; and sterilization of the brains of animals sick with gid. 2. M. glomeratus (Railliet et Henry; 1915); syn. Taenia glomerata. The definitive host is still unclear, and the intermediate host is a rodent (Gerbillus) and man. A larva (Turner, Leiper; 1919) has been described, shelled out from the intercostal muscles of a human, a native of northern Nigeria. The parasite was a bladder reaching 2 cm in length with a width of 1 cm; 35 scoleces were localized in the bladder. Each scolex is armed with a double crown of 32 hooks, of which the large ones reach 0.09–0.10 mm and the small ones 0.065–0.070 mm. 3. M. serialis (Gervais; 1847); syn. Taenia serialis. The definitive host is the dog, and the intermediate hosts are rabbits and hares. The strobila reaches 25–72 cm in length; on the scolex there are 26–32 hooks measuring 0.135–0.175 mm (large) and 0.078–0.120 mm (small). The uterus is characterized by the presence of a median trunk, from which 20–25 lateral branches depart on each side. The larva, Coenurus serialis, inhabits the subcutaneous cellular tissue and intermuscular connective tissue in rabbits and hares, and reaches the size of a chicken egg or larger. In man, M. serialis has not been confirmed to date.