﻿84 
  THE 
  CRITERIA 
  OF 
  LIVINGNESS 
  

  

  building, 
  winding-up 
  processes 
  are 
  summed 
  up 
  in 
  the 
  term 
  

   anabolism 
  ; 
  the 
  disruptive, 
  analytic, 
  down-breaking, 
  running- 
  

   down 
  processes 
  are 
  summed 
  up 
  in 
  the 
  term 
  katabolism, 
  botJa 
  

   sets 
  of 
  processes 
  being 
  included 
  in 
  the 
  term 
  metabolism, 
  for 
  

   which 
  we 
  have, 
  unfortunately, 
  no 
  English 
  equivalent 
  like 
  

   the 
  German 
  word 
  t 
  Stoffwechsel 
  ', 
  change 
  of 
  stuff. 
  But 
  when 
  

   Verworn 
  says 
  " 
  The 
  life-process 
  consists 
  in 
  the 
  metabolism 
  

   of 
  proteids 
  ", 
  he, 
  like 
  Huxley, 
  is 
  summing 
  up 
  too 
  simply 
  ; 
  

   it 
  would 
  be 
  more 
  correct 
  to 
  say 
  that 
  living 
  always 
  involves 
  

   the 
  metabolism 
  of 
  proteids 
  or 
  proteins. 
  

  

  (b) 
  Specificity 
  or 
  Individuality 
  of 
  Metabolism. 
  

  

  A 
  second 
  feature 
  is 
  that 
  each 
  organism 
  has 
  its 
  chemical 
  

   individuality, 
  and 
  associated 
  with 
  this 
  a 
  specific 
  structural 
  

   collocation. 
  There 
  is 
  a 
  chemical 
  specificity 
  in 
  the 
  milk 
  of 
  

   nearly 
  related 
  mammals, 
  and 
  in 
  the 
  grape-juice 
  of 
  nearly 
  

   related 
  vines. 
  A 
  stain 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  blood 
  of 
  a 
  rabbit 
  can 
  

   be 
  readily 
  distinguished 
  from 
  a 
  stain 
  due 
  to 
  the 
  blood 
  of 
  

   a 
  man 
  a 
  fact 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  used 
  with 
  effect 
  in 
  some 
  modern 
  

   murder 
  trials. 
  ISTay 
  more, 
  the 
  blood 
  of 
  a 
  horse 
  can 
  be 
  

   distinguished 
  from 
  that 
  of 
  an 
  ass. 
  The 
  crystals 
  of 
  the 
  red 
  

   blood 
  pigment 
  of 
  a 
  dog 
  differ 
  from 
  those 
  of 
  a 
  wolf; 
  indeed, 
  

   those 
  of 
  a 
  domestic 
  dog 
  differ 
  from 
  those 
  of 
  the 
  wild 
  or 
  

   feral 
  Australian 
  dingo. 
  The 
  familiar 
  fact 
  that 
  there 
  are 
  

   individuals 
  who 
  cannot 
  eat 
  particular 
  kinds 
  of 
  food, 
  such 
  

   as 
  eggs, 
  or 
  oysters, 
  without 
  more 
  or 
  less 
  serious 
  symptoms 
  

   is 
  another 
  illustration 
  of 
  specificity 
  which 
  is 
  actually 
  indi- 
  

   vidual. 
  It 
  looks 
  as 
  if 
  a 
  man 
  were 
  individual 
  not 
  merely 
  

   as 
  to 
  his 
  finger-prints, 
  but 
  as 
  to 
  his 
  chemical 
  molecules. 
  Even 
  

   the 
  sexes 
  differ 
  in 
  their 
  metabolism, 
  as 
  is 
  diagrammatically 
  

   shown 
  in 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  cases 
  where 
  the 
  colour 
  of 
  the 
  blood 
  

   is 
  actually 
  different. 
  We 
  are 
  here 
  in 
  contact 
  again 
  with 
  

  

  