134 THE PROTEOMORPHIC THEORY AND THE NEW MEDICINE 



may be evenly distributed throughout the length of the smear. 

 One may assume that corpuscles that show this propensity have 

 exceptional cohesive properties, suggesting a modification of 

 their chemical constitution. Of course the amount of pressure 

 exerted by the spreading slide will modify the distribution of 

 the white corpuscles under any condition, and in general it may 

 be expected that the larger cells, notably the large monocytes and 

 eosinophiles, will tend to be distributed farther down the smear 

 than the average small lymphocyte. These variations must be 

 borne in mind; but the experienced hematologist is not likely to 

 confound modifications of distribution of the corpuscles due to 

 changes in his technique with modifications connoting variant 

 systemic conditions of the patient. 



If there were any doubt as to this, one may satisfy oneself 

 that the color reactions and agglutination qualities of the white 

 corpuscles represent actual differences of systemic conditions by 

 making a series of slides of three or four patients in succession, 

 with three or four slides to each patient. It may then be seen 

 that there are marked and characteristic differences distinguish- 

 ing each group, lying entirely aside from the minor variations 

 among slides from the same patient. 



Not infreuently a slide that shows the blue-stain nuclei may 

 show other white corpuscles that scarcely take the stain at all ; 

 or corpuscles of the lymphoidocyte and plasma cell order, in 

 which the nucleus remains practically unstained while the cyto- 

 plasm takes a deep basic stain. There is, I believe, a qualitative 

 rather than a class distinction between these two types of cells, 

 namely, those that take the blue stain distinctly and those 

 that show exceedingly faint nuclei with or without basophile 

 cytoplasm. As I interpret it, these are varying conditions of ab- 

 normal acidity of the cell, associated with a greater or less degree 

 of activity, or a different stage of activity, in the hydrolyzing 

 of a foreign or abnormal protein content. The fact that the 

 cells spoken of as lymphoidocytes and plasma cells, and charac- 

 terized by unstained nuclei and deep-stained cytoplasm, are in 

 effect aberrant types of large monocytes and small lymphocytes 

 respectively adds color to this interpretation, provided of course 

 the Proteomorphic conception which ascribes to the mononuclear 

 cells a chief share in dealing with foreign proteins is accepted. 



Theories aside, however, the observed variations of cellular 

 conditions, as regards staining properties, give important clues 

 to the condition of the patient. Moreover, interesting modifica- 

 tions of these conditions, in a predictable direction, may be ex- 

 pected in connection with proteal medication. 



A typical case in point is that of patient No. 543, cancer of 

 the stomach, whose red cell count was above referred to. When 



