[Ultrastructure of the surface sculpture of the nematodes Thelazia gulosa and Thelazia rhodesi].

An electron-microscope study of the cuticle of two thelazia species revealed very interesting architectonics of the sculpture of the body surface of these nematodes. The surface layer of the cuticle is crosswise and lengthwise ridged. While certain uniformity of the shape and distribution of the surface structures can be seen in Thelazia gulosa, the case is contrary in Thelazia rhodesi. The ridges and projections of the cuticle have different structure and incidence in particular thirds of the nematode body. This unusually formed structure of body surface, which is found in thelazia, complies with the fixation and locomotion of these nematodes at the exacting place of their parasitizing--in the host's eye.