270 HISTOLOGY OF THE MORBID PROCESSES. 



the consumption of material made necessary by the work required 

 of them. 



Under these circumstances the cells appear, first, to utilize the 

 food-materials which they already contain as an accumulated stock 

 (metaplasm) ; but when these are exhausted they are forced to draw 

 upon those materials which exist as a part of their own organized 

 structure, if they are to maintain their functional activities. They 

 thus sacrifice the integrity of that structure in order to do the work 

 that has been assigned to them in the organization of the whole body. 



Now, there is a difference in the immediate availability of the 

 various classes of foods. The carbohydrates appear to be the most 

 susceptible of rapid utilization ; the proteids come next, and the 

 fats last. We may imagine, then, that in a sudden emergency the 

 cells will first consume the greater part of their store of carbo- 

 hydrates, then the proteids, and lastly the fats. If the condition 

 be an acute one, so that a part of the organized proteids are utilized 

 as food, this utilization is not complete, but the proteids are split 

 up into a portion that can be most readily oxidized and turned to 

 account, and a residual portion, which appears in granular form 

 within the cytoplasm. 



We may also imagine that, in its efforts to obtain adequate 

 nourishment, the cell imbibes an excessive amount of fluid from 

 its surroundings. 



If the adverse circumstances are extreme, the nucleus is also 

 overworked and relatively starved, and suffers in its integrity 

 (karyolysis). When the nucleus is destroyed, or when there is no 

 longer sufficient cytoplasm to aid it in its assimilative function, a 

 recovery of the cell becomes impossible. 



Let us now consider how this conception of albuminoid degen- 

 eration may serve to explain its occurrence in the various conditions 

 in which it is found. 



In fevers the rise of temperature is evidence of an increased 

 metabolism within the body i. e., the cells of the body are more 

 active in bringing about chemical changes. The amount of urea 

 eliminated from the body is also increased, showing that those 

 chemical changes involve an additional consumption of proteids. 



In febrile conditions, then, the cells are unusually active and con- 

 sume an increased amount of proteids. Let us next inquire what con- 

 ditions exist which are likely to interfere with their nutrient supply. 



The source of all nourishment, which is not gaseous, being the 



