CYTASE. 311 



complement composition, and is incapable of yield- 

 ing antihemotysin by immunization. These re- 

 sults, Metchnikoff holds, are only in apparent dis- 

 cord with those obtained by himself and his pu- 

 pils, and depend on the methods of extraction 

 which were employed. In order to obtain the ther- 

 molabile hemolysin uncontaminated with the ther- 

 mostabile, the extraction must be a rapid one. If, 

 on the other hand, it is prolonged, as Metchnikoff 

 assumes that of Korschun and Morgenroth to have 

 been, the intracellular ferments digest the remain- 

 ing cell constituents, including the thermolabile 

 hemolysin, and the thermostabile hemolysin is lib- 

 erated or formed in the process. 



Believing that cytase, under normal conditions, 

 exists only within the leucocytes, and that its pres- 

 ence outside these cells is artificial, Metchnikoff 

 cites experiments similar to the following in sup- 

 port of his views : 



Given a guinea-pig which has been immunized Cytase an 

 with the blood of a goose : if fresh goose corpuscles !ui5timcc. lar 

 are injected into the peritoneal cavity, the cells are 

 hemolyzed in the fluid without the occurrence of 

 phagocytosis. Two explanations of the extraleu- 

 cocytic presence of cytase and fixators, which is in- 

 dicated by this result, are possible : first, that they 

 are present normally and continuously in the plas- 

 ma of the immunized animal, or, second, that they 

 become liberated at the time the corpuscles are in- 

 jected. According to Metchnikoff, the latter conten- 

 tion prevails rather than the former. He recognizes 

 a phenomenon which bears the name of phagolysis, 

 i. e., solution, partial or complete, of phagocytes. 

 Almost any foreign substance or fluid which one 



