138 THE GERM THEOEY OF DISEASE. 



remoleculized, as any other food material is remoleculized; 

 nothing more and nothing less; and it is in the chemical re- 

 organization of the elements for the formation of the waste 

 products that poisons are evolved. 



It seems perfectly natural that in this remoleculization there 

 should ofteu be a residue that escapes digestion; as is seen in 

 the so-called rotting of wood and many other substances. It 

 is not probable that one organism is capable of the complete 

 destruction of such substances; but rather, that many are 

 concerned in the work. 



I may be permitted to make a suggestion in regard to the 

 cause of the difference, that is so often noticed, of the com- 

 parative liability of different persons to attacks by these 

 organisms. Several persons receive wounds. So far as can 

 be seen, their chances for a speedy recovery are equally good ; 

 but some of these develop sepsis, while others do not. Now, 

 much of this is explained by the fact that we are unable to 

 perceive the entrance of these organisms, and they may gain 

 admission to the one and not to the other, and we be none the 

 wiser until we find that sepsis is established. This is always 

 a possible explanation, for the history of the experimentation 

 on this subject shows full well that we have not, even yet, 

 learned to prevent the ingress of these germs with absolute 

 certainty. Yet over and above all of this, there is a certain 

 residue of cases that show that different persons are liable in 

 different degrees to sepsis. This has been noticed ever since 

 there was such a profession as medicine, and the class of 

 patients to which it refers have been pretty closely defined. 

 They are those whose powers of life have been weakened, by 

 whatever cause. This is said to be the resistance of the 

 tissues to the invasion of the organisms. How do they 

 resist? Now, if we accept the explanation of the formation 

 of the digestive bodies, as previously explained, this supposi- 



