A random walk model for the migration of Strongylus vulgaris in the intestinal arteries of the horse.

A study of the migration of fourth stage larvae of the parasite Strongylus vulgaris in the intestinal arteries of the horse is presented. It is established, that the larvae migrate along the arteries in almost straight lines. It is suggested that this is primarily due to their ability to sense the curvature of the vessel wall, and not, as might have been expected, because of an ability to sense the direction of blood flow. A larva will sometimes alter its direction of motion when encountering a small off-branching artery. This behaviour suggests, that the migration of S. vulgaris larvae can be modeled as a one-dimensional discrete random walk on a long time scale. This model is simpler than any deterministic model and, in particular, does not require the existence of a predilection site. The available data is not, however, sufficient for a convincing, quantitative test of the model. The proposed reluctance of the larvae to bend into off-branching arteries is used to explain the crowding of larvae in the cranial mesenteric artery.