THE SCIENCE AND ART OF PROTEAL THERAPY 145 



cally ends. If one asks, for example, why basophiles, eosino- 

 philes, and large monocytes are few, whereas small lymphocytes 

 are relatively numerous, and polynuclears still more so, no an- 

 swer has hitherto been forthcoming. 



It is axiomatic to say that such distribution of numbers must 

 be consonant with the needs of the average body and with specific 

 functions of the different types of leucocytes; but as to the 

 nature of these needs and the character of the function there is 

 entire silence on the part of physiologists and pathologists alike. 



In the first exposition of the Proteomorphic theory, I put 

 forward the suggestion that the leucocytes as a class have for 

 their broad general function the hydrolysis of proteins and the 

 earlier products of protein decompounding. To the mononuclear 

 cells in particular I ascribed the function of dealing with the 

 full-sized protein molecule. It was further noted that the large 

 monocytes appear to have a peculiar relation to the decom- 

 pounding of such neoplastic cells as those of cancer, and I ven- 

 tured the suggestion that the small lymphocyte has to do with 

 the catabolism of normal serum proteins, in rendering them 

 available for bodily use. But beyond this no detailed interpreta- 

 tion of the functions of the different leucocytes was attempted. 



In the three and a half years that have elapsed since the Pro- 

 teomorphic theory was conceived and exposited, I have devoted 

 a large share of my time to studies that brought me directly in 

 contact with problems of corpuscular activity in disease and in 

 health. During a considerable part of this time I have devoted 

 several hours of each day to the microscopic study of blood 

 corpuscles in counting-chamber and on stained smear. While 

 chiefly concerned with the blood of persons suffering from 

 maladies of disturbed metabolism, and in particular with modi- 

 fications of blood under protein treatment, I have checked these 

 observations with studies of normal blood under various condi- 

 tions. 



This is not the place to give detailed account of these studies, 

 which, indeed, have not yet reached the stage where final an- 

 alysis is desirable. But, by way of preliminary report of matters 

 hitherto unpublished, it may be worth while to give a brief out- 

 line of a theory of corpuscular action that seems to be at least 

 worth considering as a working hypothesis, although confessedly 

 subject to modification in the light of future evidence. This 

 hypothesis is only one of numerous suggestions that present 

 themselves, and which at various times have been entertained in 

 the course of my investigation. I hold it and put it forward 

 not in the least dogmatically or as having finality, but in the 

 thought that it may serve a useful purpose in guiding the inves- 

 tigations of others, and I assume that the present publication, 



