THE CELL 95 



There are no cells without protoplasm, and it is con- 

 troversial whether there are cells without a nucleus. 

 There are, however, cells in which no nuclei have yet 

 been seen. 



Taking it for granted that our inability to recognize 

 a nucleus in certain cells is evidence that none exists, we 

 find the most primitive form of cell to be a minute 

 undifferentiated speck of protoplasmic jelly. This shows 

 us that the protoplasm or cytoplasm, as it is now usually 

 called, is the essential living substance. Many attempts 

 have been made to show that the cytoplasm is of definite 

 texture thus, Flemming looked upon it as filamentous; 

 Butschli, as frothy or honeycombed, and Altmann, as 

 granular. Its true nature is still controversial. It is usual 

 to describe it as consisting of a structureless matrix of clear 

 jelly, the hyaloplasm, in which certain granules, the 

 spongioplasm or polioplasm, are suspended. It is chiefly 

 because of the presence of the spongioplasmic granules 

 that cytoplasm usually appears granular. 



The granules are of various quality, as is shown by 

 their diverse micro-chemical reactions. This is well 

 shown by an examination of human white blood cor- 

 puscles treated with a mixture of colors, such as make up 

 Ehrlich's, Biondi's, Wright's, Jenner's, or Romanowski's 

 stains. When a carefully prepared film of human blood 

 is stained with one of these reagents, we find the white 

 corpuscles showing certain variations that enable them 

 to be assigned to well-marked classes. Thus, about 70 

 per cent, show a cytoplasm rich in granules that have 

 assumed a purple color, and are known as neutrophilic 

 granules; about 25 per cent, are without granules and 

 are called hyaline cells, and the remainder are chiefly 

 made up of cells filled with coarse round granules that 

 stain a brilliant red color the eosinophile cells. 



It may naturally be inferred, and the inference is 

 probably correct, that these diversely reacting granules 

 are different in nature and function, though it has not 

 been determined what the office of the granules is. 



