156 THE PROTEOMORPHIC THEORY AND THE NEW MEDICINE 



two types of cells in similar regions of the bone marrow. Such 

 origin would be consistent with the hypothesis that the large 

 monocytes begin and the red corpuscles complete the process of 

 protein hydrolysis. 



That under normal conditions the large monocytes are few 

 and the red corpuscles many, may be provisionally explained on 

 the supposition that a large amount of protein matter normally 

 enters the blood stream at the polypeptid stage, whereas the 

 amount of unbroken protein is normally very small; in addition 

 to which it is to be recalled, of course, that the red corpuscles 

 have the further function of carrying oxygen. 



It is, of course, generally accepted that the polynuclears orig- 

 inate in the bone marrow ; but the fact that these very commonly 

 decrease in number while the large monocytes and the red cor- 

 puscles are increasing under Proteal treatment suggests an in- 

 dependent site of origin as a possibility ; with the alternative pos- 

 sibility that the genesis of different types of leucocytes may be 

 dependent on a different stimulus to the mother cell rather than 

 upon differences in the mother cells themselves. In any event, 

 the relative decrease of polynuclears (and their absolute decrease 

 when they originally were in excess) under Proteal treatment 

 coincidentally with the clinical improvement of, let us say, a 

 cancer case in which the neoplasm is regressing, suggests that 

 whatever share the polynuclear may have in the decompounding 

 of the foreign protein cell may be accomplished by a normal com- 

 plement or even a subnormal complement of these particular 

 agents. The reader who is familiar with the tables published 

 in the Monograph will recall that the polynuclear count not in- 

 frequently falls to 55 per cent, or even to 50 per cent, of the 

 total, and occasionally drops to 45 per cent., and even, in excep- 

 tional instances, to 39 per cent. 



In general, as has been noted, under Proteal treatment, the 

 polynuclear count tends toward the normal or slightly subnormal 

 status, the small monocyte population being subnormal, and the 

 large monocyte showing spectacular increase. For example, a 

 table published in the Monograph, showing the blood count in 

 19 cases of cancer after an average treatment of 186 days, gave 

 these figures: polynuclears, 57.1 per cent.; large monocytes, 24.8 

 per cent. ; small monocytes, 15.7 per cent. ; eosinophiles and baso- 

 philes making up the remaining 2.39 per cent. Another table 

 presenting 31 cases after an average of 152 days of protein 

 treatment showed : polynuclears, 64.4 per cent. ; large monocytes, 

 18.3 per cent.; small monocytes, 15.6 per cent. Still another 

 table, showing 48 cases of various kinds, including hyperthyroid- 

 ism, intestinal toxaemia, tuberculosis, and cancer under protein 

 treatment for an average period of 152 days shows the following: 



