Establishment and Pathology of Gorgoderid Infections in Anuran Kidneys

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Bladder flukes, Gorgoderina attenuata and Gorgodera amplicava, in Rana catesbeiana and R. grylio, from widely separated regions in the continental U. S. A., have been found regularly in the Wolffian ducts and encapsulated in the mesonephroi. G. attenuata may attain sexual maturity and reproductive effectiveness within the kidney tissue in capsules of host origin; ripe eggs containing fully-formed miracidia pass into the capsular cavity, and escape via the mesonephric tubules and Wolffian duct. Development and histo-logical details of the capsules are descr. Adult worms recovered from capsules in the kidneys were smaller, weaker, more transparent and more attenuated than specimens of the same sp. residing in the urinary bladder. Massive gorgoderid infection in the mesonephroi, mesonephric tubules, and Wolffian ducts was detrimental to the frog host and perhaps was even a cause of death. Tadpoles of R. pipiens (from n. Michigan) have been found infected with juvenile gorgoderid trematodes. Worms were recovered from the cloaca, the urinary bladder, the Wolffian ducts, and the mesonephroi of the tadpole.