42 DEFENSIVE FERMENTS OF THE ANIMAL ORGANISM 



circulation, then we must expect troubles of all kinds. 

 Such a case may arise, for instance, when certain cells 

 cannot complete a decomposition that they have 

 initiated, owing to the absence of the necessary 

 agent, i.e., the ferment; so that the incomplete 

 action of a particular organ may be the cause 

 of numerous disturbances of every kind. If 

 continuity of function be broken but once, then 

 one disturbance, like an avalanche, is followed by 

 another. It is true that the organism defends itself 

 in such a case. It produces compensatory activities 

 and tries to adapt itself to the new conditions, 

 often succeeding in a most amazing fashion, 

 and repairing the damage for a long period 

 of time. Pathology supplies us every day with 

 examples of this kind. The study of cellular func- 

 tions under variable conditions is one of the most 

 attractive that we know. Experimental pathology 

 is a field which will be of undoubted importance for 

 the whole of physiology, and to an extent as yet 

 unrealized. 



Thus all observations on the structure and meta- 

 bolism of the individual cells of the body lead us, in 

 the most unequivocal manner, to the conclusion that 

 within a given organism large aggregates of 

 cells work together harmoniouslv for the benefit of 



<r? 



the whole. Complete harmony of relations is guar- 

 anteed let us emphasize the fact once more by 



