The Use of Anthelmintics.

This is one of a series of articles written by eminent authorities for the purpose of extending information concerning the official medicines. The twenty-four articles in this series have been planned and developed through the cooperation of the U. S. Pharmacopeial Committee of Revision andThe Journal of the American Medical Association.—Ed. An anthelmintic is an agent used to remove parasitic worms from the body of the host. These worms, belonging to the animal phyla Nemathelminthes (roundworms) and Platyhelminthes (tapeworms and flukes), are endoparasites of man, of other animals and at times of certain plants. The anthelmintic agents used in human infections consist primarily of drugs and dyes, which act to narcotize, kill and at times digest the worms. In the case of helminths inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract and biliary passages the dislodged worms are usually evacuated in the feces, but