SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OP TISSUES AND FLUIDS. 141 



sought in some other way, which we will proceed to 

 find. 



548. THE TISSUES MUST VARY IN QUALITY in differ- 

 ent cases ; therefore they must be compounds for if sim- 

 ple substances, they would be always the same. 



549. THE TISSUES CANNOT BE DEFINITE COMPOUNDS, 

 for if they were they would be uniform, which they are 

 not. 



550. TISSUES MUST THEREFORE BE TRUE COMPOUNDS, 

 no part of the characteristics of which are possessed by 

 their components alone, but which, nevertheless, by their 

 different proportions, affect the quality of the Tissue. 



551. THIS CHARACTERISTIC OF TISSUE, viz., being a 

 true but yet indefinite compound, shows that it is en- 

 dowed with life, for it is only in the domain of life that 

 such a thing can be ; indeed, it is a distinguishing char- 

 acteristic of life to produce indefinite compounds, while 

 chemistry always produces definite compounds. 



552. THE THREE ACTIVE TISSUES, AT LEAST, exhibit 

 power when they act. Every contraction of a, :aiw=ele 

 not only, but every nervous action, and every secretion, 

 exhibits or represents power ; but, 



553. THE EXHIBITION OF POWER is ALWAYS a de- 

 structive process, is always not only attended with, but 

 produced by, decomposition of substance. 



554. EACH ACTION OF TISSUE is THEREFORE ATTEND- 

 ED BY OR DEPENDENT UPON decomposition of a corre- 

 sponding amount of substance. 



555. Illus. Cattle are sometimes chased, or " run," 

 as it is termed, by dogs, just before being killed, for the 

 purpose of making their meat tender. It will not keep 

 long in such a case, as it has to so great a degree been 

 made to undergo decomposition already, and is not worth 

 as much for food on this account. 



556. THE TISSUE AS IT DECOMPOSES must be corre- 



548. What follows if ? 549. Why ? 550. Why ? 551. shows what? 

 552. What said of ? . 553. What is ? 554. What is ? 556. What said of ? 



