AUTHOR’S ABSTRACT OF THIS PAPER ISSUED 
BY THE BIBLIOGRAPHIC SERVICE, FEBRUARY 27 
ON THE NATURE OF MITOCHONDRIA 
I, OBSERVATIONS ON MITOCHONDRIA STAINING METHODS 
APPLIED TO BACTERIA 
II. REACTIONS OF BACTERIA TO CHEMICAL TREATMENT 
IVAN E. WALLIN 
Department of Anatomy and the Henry S. Denison Research Laboratories, University 
of Colorado, Boulder 
ONE PLATE (NINE FIGURES) 
INTRODUCTION 
The publication of Altmann’s ‘Bioblast theory’ (’90) stimulated 
a new interest in the investigation of cytoplasm. The minute 
bodies observed by Altmann in the cytoplasm were thought by 
him to be the ultimate units of life, and the cytoplasm itself was 
considered a more or less passive and lifeless substance. This 
conception of cytoplasm and the contained bodies or granules 
has received no support from recent investigators. The bodies 
in question have come to be considered normal cytoplasmic 
organs by most investigators. They have been described by a 
great number of authors under various names. More recently 
the term ‘mitochondria,’ first used by Benda (’98), has come into 
general usage. 
Following the pioneer work of Flemming (’82), Altmann (’90), 
and Benda (’98), a massive literature on mitochondria has ac- 
cumulated. This literature has dealt chiefly with the presence 
or absence of mitochondria in the various types of cells in both 
plants and animals. Cowdry (’18) has given an exhaustive re- 
view of mitochondrial literature and has summed up the total of 
our knowledge of mitochondria. 
It is quite apparent, from a perusal of Cowdry’s excellent 
review, that we have an exceedingly limited knowledge concern- 
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