Trichomonas vaginalis is commonly found in the genito-urinary tracts of men and women. Studies of different groups of women have shown an incidence varying from nil in virgins (Jirovec, Breindl, Kucera, and Sebek, 1942) to high levels in sexually active women presenting with vaginal discharge. Buxton, Weinman, and Johnson (1958) found no evidence of trichomoniasis in 157 female undergraduates of whom only 10 were married, but they found that 70 per cent. of 221 female prisoners were infested; 6

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... -3 per cent. of married female employees of an insurance company were found to be infested compared with 1 * 4 per cent. of unmarried female employees. In the Whitechapel Clinic during the year beginning July 1, 1960, routine tests for trichomonal infestation were positive in 449 (31 5 per cent.) of 1,424 women and in 92 (5 6 per cent.) of 1,646 men with non-gonococcal urethritis (Wisdom and Dunlop, 1965). Search for T. vaginalis is therefore of importance in the investigation of patients exposed to sexually transmitted disease. The diagnosis is made by finding T. vaginalis in wet smear or in culture. Investigation of Women Smears.-Material taken by gently scraping the mucosal surface of the posterior fornix of the vagina with a sterile platinum loop is mixed with an equal quantity of normal saline on a slide. Specimens may be taken from the urethra or other sites using a similar technique. A cover-slip is placed on the slide and the specimen examined microscopically using a I-in. objective with the iris-diaphragm partly closed, or using a A-in. oil-immersion objective and dark-field illumination. The parasite is recognized by * An invited article,