organism in his mouth. initially, the patient would occasionally feel, but not see, this mass at different sites: cheek, palate, gums and internal surface of the lower lip. the sensation would subside after several hours without leaving any visible lesions and without being accompanied by any associated localized or generalized symptoms. the patient had no medical history. he was a resident of alsace, france, and had not travelled abroad. he reported not to have changed his lifestyle, especially not his diet, in the recent past. he also had no knowledge of having accidentally ingested an intermediate insect host. he consulted a doctor and all results of the clinical examination fell within the normal range. haematology investigation revealed no abnormalities, particularly no elevated eosinophil count, and no microfilariae were seen using stained blood films; the filariasis serology was negative. no medical treatment was initiated. after 3 weeks of migration, the thread-like worm installed itself on the inner surface of the lower lip, allowing the patient to extract it by tongue pressure firstly, then using his fingers. he placed the parasite in alcohol and submitted it to a medical laboratory. gallery these are all pictures from a single gongylonema pulchrum male extracted from a man in france. entire male head posterior end precloacal papillae postcloacal papillae right spicule and gubernaculum complete plate (click on image for detailed caption)