STUDIES ON TRICHINELLA SPIRALIS: II. TIMES OF FINAL MOLT, SPERMATOZOA FORMATION, OVULATION, AND INSEMINATION

Abstract

An experimental study of Trichinella spiralis was made in white mice and white rats to determine the times of the final molt, free spermatozoa formation, ovulation, and insemination.The following results were obtained. In mice, the final molt began in about 27 hours and was completed at 33 hours after infection. Free spermatozoa were formed, in mice, at the 26th hour after infection. Ovulation was found to occur at the 37th hour after infection in mice and at the 30th hour in rats. Insemination occurred at the 37th hour after infection in mice and at the 32nd hour in rats. Ovulation and insemination were independent processes. The copulatory tube may be a modified structure of the cuticular lining of the cloaca.