226 NEW BOOKS, WITH SHORT NOTICES. 



dismissed. It is not improbable that certain of the appearances 

 observed in series of observations, such as those described above, may 

 afford a clue to the origin of such an idea. At an early stage, when 

 the bioplasts are of great fluidity and tenuity, monad-like granules, 

 contained, in and moving with them, may be supposed to be free and 

 endowed with independent motion, but this will be found, on pro- 

 longed observation, not to be the case, and as the density of the 

 bioplasts increases, the true relations of the granules will appear. 

 At a much later stage, namely, at that of escape of the contents of the 

 cells, patches of molecular matter and scattered granules may result ; 

 and finally, when general disintegration of the bioplasts occurs, 

 large sheets and masses of evenly molecular matter may occupy much 

 of the preparation ; but these granules, micro-coccoid patches, and 

 molecular flakes, are no new developments, but are clearly traceable to 

 mere disintegrative changes in bodies previously present. The mole- 

 cular matter so produced, be it scattered or aggregated, undergoes no 

 further development, and shows no motion or any other indication of 

 vitality. The term bacteria is often very vaguely and loosely employed, 

 but it is under no pretext applicable to mere dead particles due to 

 simple disintegration. 



" As regards bacteria, so it is in regard to the presence of fungal 

 elements as a normal and constant characteristic of the blood in 

 cholera. There is absolutely nothing in favour of any sUch view ; 

 there is absolutely no evidence of the existence of fungal elements in 

 the blood whilst in the body, and only very rare and clearly accidental 

 development of such bodies after its removal from it. Possibly the 

 most important result to be derived from observations on the blood in 

 cholera, conducted in the manner described above, is the explanation 

 which they are capable of affording of the nature of the bioplastic bodies 

 and cells so abundant in, and so characteristic of, evacuations passed 

 during the course of the disease. We have previously pointed out 

 that such evacuations frequently contain evidences of the escape of 

 blood into the intestines, either by the presence of red corpuscles in 

 greater or less abundance, and occasionally included within the 

 characteristic cells of the discharges, or by that of a more or less 

 pronounced pinkish and sanguineous tinge of the fluids, with the 

 subsequent appearance of blood crystals in them. Now if, as observa- 

 tion has proved, the bioplasts contained in the blood are capable of such 

 activity and multiplication when removed from the body, and with 

 quite abnormal surroundings, it is surely fair to allow them an equal, 

 if not superior capacity, when exuded on the interior surface of the 

 intestines. 



" Such bioplasts, in passing through the various changes described 

 above, will come to present every modification of appearance and 

 characters presented by those found in the discharges. In their 

 earlier stages they will correspond with the freely motile amoebae of 

 the evacuations ; when rather older they lose their freedom of motion 

 and show mere feeble changes of form, ultimately becoming motion- 

 less and pus-like or rather exudation-like cells, such as are observed 

 in the flakes of lymph in peritonitic and similar effusions, and such 



