This case recalls a somewhat similar one given by
the older writers, in which a fetus was eaten by a worm.
Analogous are those cases spoken of by Bidel of lumbricoides
found in the uterus; by Hole, in which maggots were found in the
vagina and uterus; and Simpson, in which the abortion was caused
by worms in the womb--if the associate symptoms were trustworthy.
We can find fabulous parallels to all of these in some of the
older writings. Pare mentions Lycosthenes' account of a woman in
Cracovia in 1494 who bore a dead child which had attached to its
back a live serpent, which had gnawed it to death. He gives an
illustration showing the serpent in situ. He also quotes the case
of a woman who conceived by a mariner, and who, after nine
months, was delivered by a midwife of a shapeless mass, followed
by an animal with a long neck, blazing eyes, and clawed feet.
Ballantyne says that in the writings of Hippocrates there is in
the work on "Diseases", which is not usually regarded as genuine,
a some what curious statement with regard to worms in the fetus.
It is affirmed that flat worms develop in the unborn infant, and
the reason given is that the feces are expelled so soon after
birth that there would not be sufficient time during extrauterine
life for the formation of creatures of such a size.
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