12 GENERAL PHYSIOLOGY. 



Death of the Globules. The globule being essentially 

 ephemeral, at a certain stage after the special manifestations 

 of some of the above-named phenomena, it becomes trans- 

 formed and disappears. However, some of them may con- 

 tinue in the cell condition for many years, but they no longer 

 live ; they pass into a dormant state, which can even be com- 

 pared with their death. This fact is very common in vege- 

 table life ; it is rather uncommon to see in man cells whose 

 functions have ceased, or which have lost their characteristic 

 vitality, though still preserving their cellular formation. We 

 can cite, however, certain pigment-cells, those of the uvea 

 (pigment at the posterior surface of the choroid and iris) 

 which no longer manifest the physical properties of their 

 pigment, but by the absorption of the luminous rays of light 

 preserve thereby the functions of the eye intact. We could 

 also cite in this connection those globules to be hereafter 

 studied under the name of embryonic or plasmatic cells. 

 These seem to lie dormant in the midst of connective tissue ; 

 but when submitted to an exciting influence suddenly awake, 

 and spring into action, either in the restoration of breaches 

 made in the tissue, or in giving origin to new products, gen- 

 erally of a pathological character. But the real death of 

 the globules, the final loss of their individuality, may happen 

 in two ways. 



In the first case, the globule has little or no specified form. 

 It may, indeed, dry up and fall into a state of fine dust (fur- 

 furaceous deposits, and continued desquamation of the sur- 

 face of the epiderm) ; these scales, and pulverulent remains 

 that constitute the epidermal scales, can be made to resume 

 their cellular shape by being placed in an alkaline solution ; 

 still this is simply the corpse of the globule, a simple physical 

 imbibition, and the regenerated globular form is only a form ; 

 there is no longer life. Yet, most frequently, the globule be- 

 comes infiltrated with fat, or other matters upon which it 

 may exert a powerful attraction ; in this case it becomes 

 liquid, and falls in the form of deliquium, and thus may result 

 various kinds of fluids. This is the mechanism of most of 

 the secretions, and so also of most of the fluids secreted. 



In the second case, the globules lose their globular shape, 

 but give birth to many new anatomical forms, in soldering or 

 fusing one kind with another ; as, for instance, to form fibres, 

 or canals. This is the origin of the non-cellular portions of 

 the organism ; fibres formed in this way can no longer exhibit 

 the vital properties of those globules from which they were 



