162 THE ACTION OF THE LIVING CELL 



or, if it does, its actions are counterbalanced by the 

 development of factors antagonistic to cytost — i.e., 

 by the development of an anticytost. 



The name "anticytost" implies an antibody capable 

 of overcoming the toxic actions of cytost. While it 

 is true that we have been unable to demonstrate the 

 presence of such an antibody by the usual methods of 

 serology, a considerable mass of experimental evi- 

 dence has been accumulated which substantiates such 

 a concept. This evidence will be considered in detail 

 in the succeeding chapter. 



If for the moment the reader will accept the concept 

 of anticytost, we may proceed a little farther with 

 the discussion of some of the aspects of fatigue. If, as 

 suggested at the beginning of this chapter, muscular 

 fatigue is in part due to the accumulation of cytost in 

 or about the muscles, it follows that, other things being 

 equal, an animal whose body fluids contain an appre- 

 ciable amount of anticytost will fatigue less easily 

 than will an individual less well equipped to com- 

 bat the toxic effects of cytost, — that is, having avail- 

 able less of the specific antibody necessary to counter- 

 act the toxic efifects of cytost. Such being the case, it 

 follows that since regular exercise leads to the devel- 

 opment of a certain degree of resistance to fatigue, it 

 must likewise lead to an increased production of anti- 

 cytost; for only by this means could a resistance to 

 the fatigue-causing cytost be developed. 



As a corollary it follows that one reason a relatively 

 inactive animal is readily fatigued by a moderate 

 physical exertion is that his body cells have not devel- 

 oped a sufficiently marked resistance to cytost to en- 

 able them to withstand the sudden onslaught of this 



