114 DEFENSIVE FERMENTS IN BLOOD CORPUSCLES 



Organ A only appears to refuse to work because, as 

 the result of a primary dys-function of organ B, the 

 secretions are unable to achieve their aim in the 

 proper place. They are caught up too soon. 



We must not forget to mention, that it is, perhaps, 

 more often than we imagine, that substances which 

 are out of harmony with the plasma circulate in the 

 blood. We are thinking particularly of disinte- 

 gration of the form-elements of the blood. That 



o 



ferments, directed against the components of the red 

 blood corpuscles, can be found in animals that are 

 apparently quite normal, is shown by the fact that, 

 amongst horses and cattle, about 40 per cent, of cases 

 investigated gave a decomposition of albumen which 

 originated from the form-elements (E. Abderhalden 

 and A. Weil). 



The following experiments supply a striking 

 indication of the probable cause of this phenomenon. 

 Blood was taken from a rabbit. The serum neither 

 decomposed any organ that was free from blood, nor 

 any organ that contained blood traces of blood 

 being quite sufficient. Without any further treat- 

 ment, blood was again taken from the animal after 

 two days, and again the serum gave no decomposition 

 with any organ free from blood. On the other hand, 

 the reaction gave positive results with all organs that 

 contained blood. It was certainly not the albumen 

 of the organs that was decomposed, but the blood 



