Jackson T F
Amoebiasis Research Programme, South African Medical Research Council, Congella, Durban.
Int J Parasitol. 1998 Jan;28(1):181-6. doi: 10.1016/s0020-7519(97)00177-x.
The name of the causative organism of invasive amoebiasis, Entamoeba histolytica, was first introduced in 1903, even though this intestinal amoeba had been recognised since 1875. The marked disparity between the number of infected individuals and those with invasive amoebiasis resulted in a number of explanatory hypotheses being proposed. Although none of these were universally accepted, Brumpt's concept of two morphologically identical species gained increasing acceptance 50-60 years later when technology became available to investigate this anomaly. Sargeaunt spear-headed this drive by establishing the value of isoenzyme electrophoresis for studying the host-parasite relationship. From this foundation, incorporation of clinical, epidemiological and serological parameters to studies of the parasite resulted in the conclusion that a species complex comprising two morphologically identical amoebae was implicated with the disease. The two organisms have been named E. histolytica and Entamoeba dispar. The former is a pathogen and is responsible for invasive amoebiasis, while the latter is a gut commensal. Demonstration of the existence of this species complex has subsequently been confirmed by studies on the nucleic acids from several independent laboratories. The acceptance of E. histolytica and E. dispar as distinct species has had a major impact on our understanding of amoebiasis and its clinical management.
侵袭性阿米巴病的病原体溶组织内阿米巴（Entamoeba histolytica）的名称于1903年首次提出，尽管这种肠道阿米巴自1875年就已被识别。受感染个体数量与侵袭性阿米巴病患者数量之间存在显著差异，这导致人们提出了一些解释性假说。尽管这些假说都未被普遍接受，但50 - 60年后，当有技术可用于研究这一异常情况时，布伦普特（Brumpt）提出的两个形态相同物种的概念越来越被认可。萨金特（Sargeaunt）通过确定同工酶电泳在研究宿主 - 寄生虫关系方面的价值，引领了这一研究进程。在此基础上，将临床、流行病学和血清学参数纳入对该寄生虫的研究，得出的结论是，一种由两种形态相同的阿米巴组成的物种复合体与该疾病有关。这两种生物体分别被命名为溶组织内阿米巴和迪斯帕内阿米巴（Entamoeba dispar）。前者是病原体，可引发侵袭性阿米巴病，而后者是肠道共生菌。随后，几个独立实验室对核酸的研究证实了这种物种复合体的存在。溶组织内阿米巴和迪斯帕内阿米巴被认定为不同物种，这对我们理解阿米巴病及其临床治疗产生了重大影响。
