Monthly Microscopical 
196 On the Real Nature ee are. 
to the vessels. Such minute particles of living matter external to 
the vessels being surrounded with nutrient pabulum, and stationary, 
would grow and multiply rapidly, while a similar change would of 
course go on in the now stagnant fluid in the interior of the capil- 
lary. The result would be exactly that which is observed, wiz. the 
presence of a vast number of cells like white blood-corpuscles in the 
anterior of the capillary vessel, and immediately around its eaternal 
surface, and sometimes these extend for some distance in the sub- 
stance of the surrounding tissue, and they increase in number. 
“T venture, then, to conclude that many of the clear fluids 
which have been considered as ‘ eaudations’ from the blood, really 
contain a multitude of extremely minute particles of living matter, 
which are intimately related to the white blood-corpuscles, and that 
these grow and become one source of the small granular cells or 
corpuscles which are so familiar to all who have studied morbid 
changes in the tissues as they occur in man and the higher animals. 
“Some of these active living particles may be so small as to be 
invisible by a power magnifying 5000 diameters. I have seen 
such particles, less than the 50,000th of an inch in diameter, and 
have no reason whatever for assuming that these are really the 
smallest that exist.” 
These minute particles of bioplasm multiply freely, but they 
may also be derived from the white blood-corpuscles, and from other 
forms of bioplasm. As the blood coagulates they undergo change, 
die, and help to form the non-living fibrin. In every clot numerous 
white blood-corpuscles, also composed of living matter, can be 
detected. In coagulation it is probable that the most minute 
particles of bioplasm change first, and become fibrin. After a time 
the white blood-corpuscles also die, and thus the coagulum of fibrin 
continues to increase for a short time after coagulation has com- 
menced. ‘The lines round the red blood-corpuscles seen stretching 
from one to the other in a drop of coagulating blood indicate the 
earliest stage in the formation of fibrin. The minute particles of 
bioplasm may be seen actually undergomg change. The bioplasm 
of the blood is derived from the bioplasm originally found in the 
vessels of the germinal area at a very early period of development, 
from the bioplasm of the capillary walls, which is very abundant in 
some capillaries, and projects into the cavity, and from the lymph 
and chyle bioplasm which is being continually poured into the 
vascular system and mixed with the blood. 
If the clear transparent material which moves round the cells 
of Vallisneria and other plants be carefully examined under very 
high powers magnifying upwards of 2000 diameters, it will be 
discovered that this is not a simple fluid like water containing the 
nucleus and chlorophyl. But the apparent fluid has suspended in 
it an infinite number of particles of living matter, like those of 
Pa 
