RENDERING RESISTANT STARFISH EGGS NORMAL. 345 



insulating and hence semi-permeable layer on the integrity of 

 which the normal composition of the living substance depends, 

 cannot undergo marked and prolonged increase of permeability 

 without alteration in the nature and proportion of the cell- 

 con-t ii nent-; thi- involve- altered chemical organization and 

 exentual derangement of the cell-processes. 1 In most of the 

 abnormal conditions considered above the membrane appears to 

 ha\e nn<!' the oppo-iu- kind of modification, becoming 



abnormally impermeable and re-i-tant I" changes of permeability. 

 Such a condition i- e--entially one of irre-p< >n-i\ cue , and i- in 

 ense pathological, although it differ- fnun a condition of 

 permanently increased pi rmi-abilit>- in inxoKin- no loss of 

 material frm the cell; hence tin- po--ibility of rc-iorin^ the 

 n ir ma 1 proper tie- of the cell by brin^in^ the permeability aiiain 

 to the normal- -hould theoretically 1 ter in tin- class of 



cases than iii the other. 2 



IVrhap- the coin lit imi of the above iv-i-tant -tarti-h eggs i- not 

 properly to be (ailed pathological, -ince the change in tile pn>p- 

 ertie- of tin- eggs lo\\ard the close of tin- breeilii >u i- \>vc- 



-ninabK a con-t.mt one. ami hence normal in a ph\ -il< njral 

 sense. I in- eggs meivlv bt come h> perre-i-tant to ferl ili/at i< >\\ ; 

 /. f., \\ilh inci-ea-in^ a;^e the inetaboli-in of thi' o\ arie- mider^.. - 

 alteration lo Kail to the production , ha\in^ more 



re-i-tant membrane- than before. The cycle of e-^-|)roducti- >n 

 >hortl>- al'teruard- COmes to a clo-i-. The phenomenon bear- in 

 Certain respects a marked re-cm blam e lo -eiie-ceiice. and it- con- 

 dition-, max throu li^ht on the ph\-iol"-\ ( ,f ih, latter process. 

 In old .i-e the irritable dssues became le an<l less responsive, 



and the rate of mctab<>li-m i- corn -p< .ndin-ly lo\\rred. Irre- 

 1 I h.ui- iludt "ii ;: tations at Sdincwhat ^rt-ati-r k-n.uth in iu\- i-arlirr 



i in I hi- jniunal. I <)><}, \'<>\. 17, p. \<i- i-t seq. I In- tiindann-iUa! iinpi PI ! 



>.| tin- p. ut uliiih a!; .I'nihraiu-s play in pathological pnio--< \\a- 



.1 l.y /ani;K<-T. Tin- tollowing quotation will ilhir-uai' : " I >i.- n..niiah- 

 t\-pi~. !, r> i ini-.il'ilitat ih-r Mrinlnani-n i<t al-> \'"iau--i-tzung dcr norinalcn 

 ii-tiinktioiu-n. I)aurmil v-ranli-rtu IVrmeabilitat ilt-r Muniliraiu-n hcdi-utet 

 l'ath.lfxi.\ path..U'.i;i~i hen Stoff\v<\ -h-i 1." i-tc.: Yierteljahrs#chrift d. Xaturf. < 



h, 1906, Vol. 51, p. 4,^. Cf. also ibid., 1907, 1908, and the other papers of 

 Zangger and his students, e.^x-dally Fn-i and Stoffel, for a fuller <l< . at "f 



;ogether with experimental data bearing on the relations of membrane 

 changes to pathological processes, immunity, and related phenomena. 



'For further discussion of this subject cf. my earlier paper in American 

 IIJKI, Vol. jr>. pp. nj et ~eq. 



