190 CAN DISEASE GERMS 



of exciting a new action upon an unaffected surface 

 are the direct descendants of the original corpuscles 

 which excited that action. Not only so, but I believe 

 they take the nutrient material which was destined 

 for the nutrition of the normal bioplasm, and live 

 at its expense. Just as in the case of cancer, 

 the adventitious rapidly growing germinal matter 

 takes the nutriment destined for the normal tissue, 

 and even feeds upon the latter in consequence of its 

 powers of growth being much more active. 



At the same time in the case of the specific pus- 

 corpuscles growing upon a mucous surface there is no 

 doubt that the germinal matter of the normal cells 

 increases and multiplies too. Indeed, in some in- 

 stances I have proved that this is the case, so that 

 there are two distinct processes going on i, the mul- 

 tiplication of the specific bioplasm, and, 2, the multipli- 

 cation of the germinal matter of the normal cells 

 modified by the altered circumstances to which it is 

 exposed. And it therefore follows that not every one 

 of the pus-like bodies formed is capable of exciting 

 the specific inflammation, but the morbid bioplasts 

 outstrip to so great an extent, in the rate of their 

 multiplication, the masses of normal germinal matter, 

 that the number of descendants of the latter would 

 be comparatively insignificant, and would soon be 

 completely overwhelmed by the former. 



Upon the whole, then, I venture to conclude that 

 the millions of contagious particles produced in the 



