Studies on the Life-Cycle of Ornithodiplostomum ptychocheilus (Faust) (Trematoda: Strigeoidea) and the "Self Cure" of Infected Fish

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Abstract
The life cycle of Ornithodiplostomun ptychocheilus is described. Adults were obtained by force-feeding baby chicks with metacercariae from the mesenteries and brain of the shiner (Notropis cornutus frontalis) and fathead (Pimephales, p. promelas) and mesenteries of the creek chub (Semotilus a. atromaculatus). Snails (Physa anatina) were infected with the resulting miracidia, and the sporocysts and cercariae are described. Fish (Pimephales p. promelas, Notropis d. dorsalis, Semotilus a. atromaculatus) were experimentally infected and the development of the metacercaria and cyst is described. A bursting of the body wall of the fish, resulting in release of metacercariae ("self-cure") is described. The histopathology of the infected fish is briefly described.