324 THE AUXETIC ACTION OF GLOBIN 



devoured all the haemoglobin; the hsematin derived 

 from the haemoglobin has collected in the parasite as 

 a pigment known as melanin; and the parasite will 

 no longer proliferate until the blood is shed. // the 

 blood is shed, however, whether it is shed on to a 

 microscope slide or into the stomach of the mosquito, 

 the parasite again becomes prolific almost immedi- 

 ately, and flagellation occurs. 



Now, when blood is shed, no matter how it is shed, 

 whether it be on a microscope slide or into the 

 stomach of the mosquito, haemoglobin must be set 

 free, for the red corpuscle is a very delicate cell, and 

 many of them must be ruptured when any injury 

 occurs in a tissue. The question therefore arises, Does 

 haemoglobin have any function in inducing the pro- 

 liferation of the malaria parasite ? From circumstantial 

 evidence it would appear that it does, for so long as 

 the parasite is absorbing haemoglobin from the red 

 cell in which it lives, so long will it continue to 

 proliferate by exporulation ; but when it has finished 

 the contents of the cell, proliferation ceases until 

 more haemoglobin can be absorbed by it when the 

 blood is shed. 



In the malaria parasite, in the cells of melanotic 

 sarcoma, and in the neighbourhood of old healing 

 ulcers the haemoglobin is evidently decomposed because 

 the haematin collects as insoluble pigment. 



Haemoglobin is fairly soluble, but when it is de- 

 composed into haematin and globin the haematin is 

 insoluble in water except in the presence of dilute 

 alkalies. Globin is readily soluble. Hence it cannot 



