Nearly all the symptoms caused directly or indirectly by parasites are of such a nature that the presence of the parasites cannot be diagnosed with any certainty, or only very rarely. The most that can be done is to deduce the presence of parasites by the exclusion of other causes. Fortunately, however, there are sufficient means by which we may confirm the diagnosis in a great many cases. Such means consist not only in a minute examination of the patient by palpation, percussion and local inspection, but also in the microscopical examination of the natural secretions and excretions of the body, such as sputum, nasal mucus, urine and fæces. Though such examinations may entail loss of time, they are necessary in the interest of the patient. It appears, moreover, that quackery, which has gained considerable ground even in the treatment of the helminthic diseases of man, can thus be considerably limited.
_Origin of Parasites._[6]--In former times, when the only correct views that existed related to the origin of the higher animals, the mode of multiplication of parasites as well as of other lowly animals was ascribed to SPONTANEOUS GENERATION (_generatio æquivoca_), and this opinion prevailed throughout the middle ages. The writers on natural science merely devoted their time to the interpretation of the views of the old authors, and perpetuated the opinions of the ancients on questions, which, even in those days, could have been correctly explained merely by observation.
[6] Die Geschichte der “Klinisch wichtigen Parasiten,” behandelt H. Vierordt im “Handb. d. Gesch. d. Med. hrsg.” v. M. Neuburger u. J. Pagel, Bd. ii, 1903.
It was only when observations were again recommenced, and the microscope was invented, that the idea of spontaneous generation became limited. Not only did the microscope reveal the organs of generation or their products (eggs) in numerous animals, but Redi succeeded in proving that the so-called _Helcophagi_ (flesh maggots) are only the progeny of flies, and never appear in the flesh of slaughtered animals when fully developed flies are prevented from approaching and depositing their eggs on it. Swammerdam likewise knew that the “worms” living in the caterpillars of butterflies were the larvæ of other insects (ichneumon flies) which had laid their eggs in their bodies; he also discovered the ova of lice. The two authors mentioned were, however, unwilling to see that the experience they had gained regarding insects applied to the helminthes. Leeuwenhoek also vehemently opposed the theory of a spontaneous generation, maintaining that, on a basis of common-sense, eggs, or at all events germs, must exist, even though they could not be seen.