Under this head we have observed, of late, a variety
of erudite articles in some of our daily papers, not only here but in New
York, Boston and elsewhere. The hubbub, it appears, has been created by
an old story revived concerning a living worm seen in the eye of a horse.
The Philadelphia Gazette is incredulous-- the Ledger a true believer--and
each paper has its partisans. The only wonder in the case is that so mighty
a controversy should arise about a matter with which every tolerably decent
schoolboy is acquainted, and a detailed account of which may be found in
all works upon Natural History. The worm in question belongs to Cuvier's
class of Entozoa--thus defined, "Body in general elongated or depressed;
articulated or not; without limbs; no branchiee nor tracheae, nor any other
organ of respiration; no traces of a true circulation: some vestiges of
nerves; almost all live within other animals." The fact is that
there are hardly any tissues or cavities in the animal frame where entozoa
are not discovered. They have been frequently observed in the muscular
substance, and very frequently in the human brain.
[S:0 - Brigham]