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An otherwise healthy 15-year-old girl developed an iridocyclitis in her right eye. A contractable living parasite measuring two millimeter could be detected in the anterior chamber, the other parts of the eye remained uninvolved. The patient had close contact with the young dog of the family. By using a viscoelastic substance the parasite could be removed alive without any complications. The tapeworm was found to be too young for having developed the characteristic scolex. Western-immunoblotting gave indirect evidence for infection with Taenia crassiceps, a dog's tapeworm. During an observation period of two years no evidence for any other ocular or general Taenia crassiceps infestations could be found.

An 8-year-old girl complained of progressive pain, visual loss and photophobia in her right eye for 1 week. Treatment with local steroids for acute iritis had not been successful. Slitlamp examination revealed a marked cellular and fibrinous inflammatory reaction of the anterior chamber and a whitish, fibrin-like structure on the surface of the iris. There was mild serum eosinophilia and leucocytosis. The suspected organic material was removed surgically. By light and electron microscopy, parts of the wall of a helminthic parasite were discovered, anatomically consistent with the diagnosis of an immature stage of Taenia solium found in cysticercosis. Such cases of intra-ocular parasitosis are described very rarely but might still occur, although there is no history of suspicious typical exposition to parasites. It is important to know that eosinophilia may be insignificant or even absent and that complete surgical removal will be the only successful treatment.

By scanning electron microscopy we found heteromorph microtriches in the tegumental surface of the praeadult and its bladder. But this polymorphism is caused by three unimorph parts, namely the head region, the midbody and the bladder. The types of microtriches are heterogeneous in regard to the shape (from conical to cylindrical), the size (from 0.37 to 4.5 micron in length and 0.055 to 0.092 micron in diameter) and the density (from 6.3 to 25 microtriches/micron 2). An attempt was made to determine the relative increase in the tegumental surface of the cysticercus of T. saginata. The relation of actual surface area to a corresponding area without microtriches is OF = nA + 1/1 - nB. In this study, the factor of the increase in the tegumental surface (OF) ranged from the head region (6.3x) to the midbody (1.4x -1.7x) and the bladder (21x). By transmission electron microscopy fine threads were demonstrated in the apical surface of the microtriches. These fine threads raised the adhesive function of the microtriches in the course of the infection of the final host as well as in the migration in the digestive tract. A relation between shape, size and density of the microtriches and the body volume is postulated.

The ultrastructure of the bladder tegument of the metacestode of Taenia saginata, with considerations on the establishment in the definitive host. The tegument surface of invaginated Taenia saginata metacestodes was demonstrated by scanning electron micrograph. The tegument is folded irregularly and its surface is amplified by the presence of microtriches, 44-45 microtriches/micron 2. The microtriches are about 500 nm long and have an absorptive function. Likely, form and sensity of microtriches turn out a capillary attraction that plays an important role in contact with surface (finger, tongue and duodenum of man, instrumentarium , glass, plastics). This opinion is supported by scanning electron micrograph of the surface of finger-tips, of the tongue and the duodenum of man.