58 THE GERM THEORY OF DISEASE. 



outgrowths from the white corpuscles of the normal blood, 

 excited by germs of a similar nature. This outgrowth occurs 

 in successive changes in the physiological activity of the bio- 

 plasm of each successive globule of living matter, as new 

 globules are given off from the parent globule, uutil the type 

 of the exciter of the change has been reached more or less per- 

 fectly. After these changes have been induced, and have run 

 their course, many of these bioplasts die and are eliminated 

 from the system. But very many are eliminated in the living 

 state, and the person or animal, if it has been able to with- 

 stand the attack, returns to a state of health. 



The germs eliminated in the living state have acquired a 

 wonderful tenacity of life, and are capable of living for a very 

 considerable time in the atmosphere. They have the power 

 of entering into the circulation of another animal by way of 

 mucous membranes and otherwise. And when so entered, they 

 induce precisely the same changes in the blood as before 

 described. 



This is an extension to the contagious diseases, with some 

 change of form, of the theory now generally held as to the 

 nature of the formation of neoplasms, or new growths in the 

 form of tumors, such as cancer, sarcoma, etc. 



These are regarded as changes in the physiological character 

 of the cells of the part, by which they take on new properties 

 resulting in abnormal proliferation of cells with like charac- 

 teristics. These cells, when transplanted to other animals, 

 will, if the conditions be favorable for them, grow and mani- 

 fest all their acquired physiological characters. In this way, 

 epithelial cancer may be transferred from man to the animals, 

 or from person to person, perhaps, as readily as syphilis from, 

 person to person, except that the cancer cells must be actually 

 grafted into the second person. 



Moreover, it is generally recognized that the infiltration 



