1 66 The Story of the Bacteria 



have the power to induce disintegration and 

 destruction of bacteria. This action is called 

 lytic, which means dissolving. Thus we now 

 speak of the destructive action of the body 

 fluids on the bacteria as bacteriolytic. There 

 is reason to believe that one of the most 

 important agencies of the body in protecting 

 itsjslf against invasive micro-organisms is this 

 bacteriolytic power of its fluids. This power 

 is the same as the body has always made use 

 of in disposing of its own dead or useless 

 cells, but it is here diverted to new ends to 

 meet an emergency. 



While there appears to be in this new 

 knowledge of bacteriolysis the brightest prom- 

 ise of future practical usefulness in the 

 control of infection, we need to know more 

 about the cells which make these protective 

 substances and the conditions of their forma- 

 tion before we can effectively lend a hand. 



But it has been found that by introducing 

 into the body, in certain infections, some of the 

 killed bacteria which incite them, the body 

 cells are stimulated to produce substances 

 which so alter such of these bacteria as are 



