44 DEFENSIVE FERMENTS OF THE ANIMAL ORGANISM 



disharmonious cells settle on any spot within the 

 hitherto harmonious cell complex. From this 

 moment the harmoniously organized cells of the 

 tissues are subjected to the influence of a kind of 

 cell which has an utterly strange organization of its 

 own. These new cells have a characteristic metabo- 

 lism corresponding with their whole structure and 

 configuration, and this they bring with them definitely 

 into the new organism. They pass into the blood 

 numerous end-products of their metabolism. Further, 

 some cells decay here and there, and partial products 

 reach the blood which are out of harmony with the 

 species, and, of course, entirely so with the plasma 

 and the cell. The whole regulation of tho normal 

 metabolism is seriously injured. The cells of the 

 gut-wall will still be on the watch to prevent any 

 disharmonious material from entering the organism ; 

 and the single cells of the body will still struggle to 

 supply the blood only with properly altered sub- 

 stances. But the whole organization has been 

 damaged, in regard to the collaboration of its various 

 cells, by the fact that disharmonious substances are 

 continually given off by the invaders. The very 

 same thing occurs if, through any cause whatsoever, 

 the cells of the body change their structure and 

 acquire a metabolism which is entirely foreign to 

 the rest of the cells of the body. If cancer 

 cells or sarcoma cells, for instance, appear, then we 



