Endamoeba gingivalis in pulmonary suppuration.

Two recent cases of pulmonary suppuration in which Endamoeba gingivalis was found in purulent material from the bronchi demonstrated the ease with which this finding could lead to a mistaken diagnosis of Endamoeba histolytica infection of the lung. The cases are reported below and the protozoan described because no report of E. gingivalis in the lung has been found in the literature. The protozoon observed in these cases apparently had no etiologic relationship to the diseases reported. The organism E. gingivalis was the first parasitic ameba of man to be described. It was seen by Gros (1) in 1849 in the soft tartar of the teeth. The first detailed description was that of V. Prowazek (2) in 1904. This organism is a parasite of the mouth of man and is most often found in gingival tissue around the teeth.