Miscellaneous Papers. 377 



that class of scientists who claim that there is nothing in the ques- 

 tion of heredity. It is my candid opinion that a very large per 

 cent, of all cases are the result of contagion or infection. From a 

 statistical standpoint we could cite a large number of cases which 

 give no evidence whatever of heredity. I have not the time nor the 

 desire to thus impose upon your good nature. 



What is the source of the contagion ? Twenty-one years ago 

 Sir James Paget said: "I believe that microbe parasites, or sub- 

 stances produced by them, will some day be found in essential re- 

 lation with cancer and cancerous diseases." Hundreds of years 

 before this time cancer was looked upon and believed to be due to 

 a crab which was eating up the tissues. Were not the people in 

 fact reckoning far better than they knew ? We believe it is due to 

 an animal so exceedingly small that it can only be recognized by 

 the aid of a good microscope. This animal belongs to one of the 

 lowest forms of life, an Ameba. We sometimes call it the proteus 

 animalcule. It is found in the mud, ponds and pools of stagnant 

 water. Under the microscope it appears transparent and resembles 

 in form jelly. It has an outer and inner substance. The octoplasm 

 is very transparent; the endoplasm presents a grayish tinge, prob- 

 ably due to minute solid particles, and is termed granular. It is 

 undigested particles of food which the ameba has eaten, combined 

 with bubbles of water. By close observation we can see the ex- 

 panding and contracting of the body in taking food. The ameba 

 has what is termed pseudopodia, or false feet. When they come in 

 contact with anything desired as food it throws out the feet beyond 

 the object, literally engulfing it. Having secured the prey, a little 

 water is thrown out of the surrounding protoplasm with the food. 

 Doubtless upon examination we would find some secreted substance 

 which acts upon the prey and converts it into the necessary condi- 

 tion for its use. If we expose the ameba to conditions unfavorable, 

 such as a dry atmosphere, it will enclose itself in a cyst and become 

 sphere shaped. In this condition it can be carried about like a 

 particle of dust. 



A test of some thirty cases of cancer was made, which resulted 

 in the discovery of an ameba which did escape the notice of the 

 old investigators. The granular bodies were noted and mentioned 

 as far back as the use of the microscope in the investigation of 

 cancer. They were looked upon as broken or degenerated tissue. 

 They were found in the blood-vessels and tissues of the individual 

 infected with cancer, and frequently quite remote from the seat of 

 the disease. 



