Studies on Clonorchis Sinensis. I. Observation on the Route of Migration in the Definitive Host

Abstract

Summary In rabbits having no open passageway between the intestine and biliary passages through which flukes could crawl, it was found that young adult Clonorchis sinensis, after excystation in the duodenum, are capable of making their way to the liver and developing there to adulthood. These data were obtained from rabbits having the ductus choledochus ligatured, and in some cases having a tube from the gall bladder outside the body for biliary drainage. Excysted metacercariae, or “adolescariae”, injected directly into the mesenteric vein developed into adults in the hepatic biliary passages in one of five animals. The data presented indicate that some maturation may be required in the intestine before the adolescariae are capable of penetration. These observations do not rule out the possibility of migration directly from the duodenum into the common bile duct, but are suggestive of a route in which intestinal penetration and transfer to the liver by the portal system is a normal process.