Sunday, May 19, 2019

Case of the Week 545

This week's case was donated by Dr. David Pritchard. The following worm was noted in the toilet of a patient with an extensive international travel history. Likely identification?

21 comments:

BISHAL said...

Schistosoma?

Idzi P. said...

Oligochete...
Had one last week that was “peed out” by the patient...
If one would check with a loupe or a microscope, the little bristles (that give it its name) could be identified.

Anonymous said...

My first impression with this annelid is that it is found in the toilet bowl, very much resembling the ones quite often submitted to our lab and as such, I would call it Lumbricus terrestris.
From Down Under,
Florida Fan

Sir Galahad said...


Lumbricus spp (not terrestris)

Audrey Schuetz said...

Earthworm? It's awfully long...

Curious & Learning said...

What is the approximate length? Hard to determine it’s actual size.

Anonymous said...

I'd say it is a Lumbricus, the good old earthworm: a gardener's friend and the first animal I dissected in Biology Class. How it got into the toilet would be most interesting to know.
BW in Vt

Bernardino Rocha said...

Everything points to an oligochaeta, is segmented body, the peristaltic movement of the musculature, and apparently the clitellum.

Anonymous said...

Maybe a red wiggler (Eisenia fetida) from vermicompost? M Mitchell

Old One said...

The man from Down Under sees the Old One carrying a fishing pole while walking down the road.

"Hey Old One are you going fishing?". Old One, " Yeh". Florida Fan, " Got worms?" Old One, " Yeh, but I'm going fishing anyway."

Not much on annelid taxonomy but it looks much like the Night Crawlers (L. terrestris, Latin for earthworm that lives in the earth) I fish with.

Possible scenario

Dang, dropped my worm container on the floor, spilled some worm bedding. Better sweep it up before Arlene sees it. I'll just dump the bedding in the toilet. Did I remember to flush? "Oh No"

nema said...

Criodilus lacuum ?

Eagleville said...

Looks like lumbricus spp. Here in the country it is not unusual for worms to make their way back upstream from the septic tank.

Anonymous said...

À Idzi,
Ce ver me rappelle d'un vieux poème par Jacques Roubau "Le lombric". Eh bien, parfois on a besoin d'un ver pour attraper le poisson pour le dîner, puisque les vers ne viennent pas aisément aux ventres en famine.
Florida Fan

Atiya kausar said...

Interesting cases every time .....

Sergey said...

earthworm

footloose said...

Tapeworm?

Sir Galahad said...

Florida Fan, è questa?

Le Lombric
Conseils à un jeune poète de douze ans.
Dans la nuit parfumée aux herbes de Provence,
Le lombric se réveille et bâille sous le sol,
Étirant ses anneaux au sein des mottes molles
Il les mâche, digère et fore avec conscience.

Il travaille, il laboure en vrai lombric de France
Comme, avant lui, ses père et grand-père ; son rôle,
Il le connaît. Il meurt. La terre prend l’obole
De son corps. Aérée, elle reprend confiance.

Le poète, vois-tu, est comme un ver de terre
Il laboure les mots, qui sont comme un grand champ
Où les hommes récoltent les denrées langagières ;

Mais la terre s’épuise à l’effort incessant !
Sans le poète lombric et l’air qu’il lui apporte
Le monde étoufferait sous les paroles mortes.

Blaine A. Mathison said...

To see a worm wiggling in a toilet bowl
would certainly on anyone take its toll
but there's nothing to fear
for it didn't come out your rear
but a crack in your pipes allowed contamination from the soil!

Anonymous said...

Sir Galahad,
Yes, it is the poem. You got it right on the nail head.
Florida Fan

Idzi P. said...

“Merci” for the poem, Sir Galahad and Florida Fan! Sweet!!!
Another route for earthworms to arrive in the toilet bowl might be to flush it using a rainwater-collector.

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