
experimental onchocercal ocular lesions in the chimpanzee
this is the first attempt to produce
onchocercal eye lesions with microfilariae of
o. volvulus in the chimpanzee.
live microfilariae, once in the anterior
chamber of the eye, could penetrate the an-
gle of the anterior chamber, the iris, the
ciliary body, the choroid and the vitreous.
most of the microfilariae injected alive
into the anterior chamber of the eyes of the
chimpanzee died within a short time.  com-
parison, therefore, could not be made be-
tween the effects of live and dead micro-
filariae.
microfilariae debris was demonstrated
within giant cells for the first time.
subconjunctival and limbal infiltration
with incipient pannus, inflammation within
the trabecular meshwork of the angle of the
anterior chamber and extensive active iri-
docyclitis were demonstrated in histologic
sections, although the conditions were clini-
cally quiescent.
the posterior segment lesion of oncho-
cercal chorioretinal degeneration could not
be reproduced.
subcutaneous and intravenous injec-
tions of worm extracts, derived from human
onchocercomas, may have contributed to the
onset of active choroiditis.  this sensitization
alone, without the intraocular injection of
microfilariae, had no effects on the eye.
various aspects of the pathogenesis of
human onchocerciasis are discussed on the
basis of present experimentation.
