108 THE CELL DOCTRINE. 



study of pus, or mucous, or white blood corpuscles, 

 or the cells of a rapidly growing morbid growth. In- 

 deed it seems like sacrificing observation to theory, 

 to say that germinal matter is always structure- 

 less. For let us take the white blood corpuscle or 

 pus corpuscle, acknowledged to be pure germinal 

 matter, and always described as granular in its struc- 

 ture; either the germinal matter here is granular, 

 or the granules are particles of formed material or 

 extraneous matter suspended in the formless sub- 

 stance, just as granular matter from without be- 

 comes entangled in the formless matter of the am- 

 oeba. But, such a view as the latter, would be 

 incompatible both with the behavior of growing 

 germinal matter, and the reaction by which it is 

 known; for we note, on the one hand, that when 

 germinal matter grows rapidly, these granules are 

 the elements which increase most abundantly; and 

 again, that these are the portions most deeply stained 

 by ammoniacal solutions of carmine or aqueous so- 

 lutions of red aniline. Especially must this be the 

 case if the so-called nuclei of these bodies, which 

 appear after the addition of water and acetic acid, 

 are simple aggregations of the granular matter, as is 

 contended by Dr. Beale. We deem it incorrect, 

 therefore, to describe germinal matter as in all in- 

 stances structureless, and prefer, with Robin, to de- 

 scribe it as sometimes granular. Indeed, if we mis- 

 take not, Dr. Beale in his earlier descriptions also 

 characterized it as granular.* 



* Beale's Archives of Medicine, vol. ii, p. 189. 



