294 THE CAUSE OF HEALING 



patients are reduced in number. The inference is that 

 this reduction is made in response to the same agent 

 which causes the excitation and discard of granules. 

 The important point is that while engaged in these 

 blood examinations the fact became apparent that this 

 agent in cancer plasma (presumably it is the same 

 agent) will help to induce cell-division. 



The large lymphocyte requires a considerable 

 quantity of stain, extract, or atropine before it will be 

 induced to divide in the "experimental ten minutes." 

 In the technique, described in the last chapter, for 

 counting the granules of eosinophile leucocytes the 

 jelly employed contains only 4 units of polychrome 

 dye, the efficiency of which for inducing divisions is 

 infinitesimal (the jelly containing no extract of dead 

 tissues or atropine). Yet in the examination of the 

 blood of three of the cases of carcinoma some of the 

 large lymphocytes showed well-marked stages of early 

 mitosis, whereas this result could not be obtained in 

 any of the controls. It is clear, therefore, that the 

 cells in these three cases were inclined to divide before 

 they were ever placed on the jelly, and the trifling 

 assistance which they received from the 4 units of the 

 polychrome dye caused them to show well-marked 

 mitotic figures (figs. 62, 64) , whereas the large lympho- 

 cytes in all the control specimens, made under exactly 

 the same conditions, remained at rest. 



Moreover, in two other cancer patients (both cancer 

 of the stomach), owing to anaemia, many granular red 

 cells were seen in their blood. On its being examined 

 on jelly which contained azur dye, extract, and atropine, 



