268 THE ACTION OF THE LIVING CELL 



the members of such expeditions are closely crowded 

 together in their small huts. It would seem that the 

 absence of respiratory disease among the members 

 of such expeditions is in part due to the fact that the 

 air of the polar regions must be free of human cytost; 

 hence the men are not exposed to this predisposing 

 cause. 



In this connection it is of interest to note that Dr. 

 S. E. Jones, a physician who accompanied the Aus- 

 tralasian Antarctic Expedition led by Sir Douglas 

 Mawson, records in his medical report that an epi- 

 demic of influenza broke out on the ship and that the 

 recovery of the convalescents was much more rapid 

 after arrival in the Antarctic than on the ship. (See 

 Mawson, 1916.) This is in agreement with the well 

 known fact that patients suffering from various res- 

 piratory disturbances recover more rapidly in spa- 

 cious country sanitoria than in congested city hos- 

 pitals, a fact which suggests that removal from 

 cytost laden air maybe distinctly beneficial in the treat- 

 ment of such conditions. Indeed, if possible, this 

 would seem to be of value in the treatment of any type 

 of disease in which cytost intoxication may be an im- 

 portant factor. 



By analogy with our experiments with animals, it 

 should be apparent that any measures which may in- 

 crease an individual's resistance to cytost should be 

 of value both in the prevention and the treatment of 

 disease. In our discussion of so-called natural re- 

 sistance it was pointed out that such factors as proper 

 diet and adequate exercise seem to raise one's natural 

 resistance by raising his resistance to cytost. Con- 

 versely, improper diet and lack of exercise tend to 



