274 HISTOLOGY OF THE MORBID PROCESSES. 



which the heart, as well as the other tissues, suffers. But the 

 demand for oxygen on the part of the general economy requires an 

 acceleration of the circulation ; this throws extra work upon a 

 relatively starved heart. 



It is evident, from the foregoing considerations, that albuminoid 

 and fatty degenerations must be very common conditions in the cells 

 of the body. Their close etiological similarity makes it obvious, 

 also, that they must very frequently be associated with each other, 

 either in the same cell or in different cells of the same organ. The 

 fact that fatty degeneration is often a sequel of albuminoid degen- 

 eration may be explained as the result of a toxic or other condition, 

 which has been sudden in its onset, but has declined in intensity 

 with the lapse of time. Or it may be possible that the cells are 

 able gradually to adapt themselves, in a measure, to the new con- 

 ditions under which they must do their work, and that they become 

 able to utilize more completely the foods they receive ; leaving a 

 fatty, instead of an albuminoid, residue. 



Fatty degeneration, like albuminoid degeneration, may lead to a 

 total destruction of the cell, leaving the fatty globules free, or 

 recovery may take place on the subsidence of the cause. 



2. Cheesy degeneration is a term applied to an association of 

 albuminoid and fatty degenerations with necrosis, in which the 

 detritus of the tissues forms a dry material, somewhat resembling 

 the softer varieties of cheese. Under the microscope this cheesy 

 material has a finely granular appearance, with here and there small 

 fragments of nuclear chromoplasm which still retain their affinity for 

 nuclear dyes. 



3. Fatty Infiltration. Essentially different from fatty degenera- 

 tion is an accumulation of fat in cells as the result of their over- 

 feeding. It may be due to an excessive reception of fat by the 

 cells, but this is not necessarily the case. A supply of any form 

 of food that is in considerable excess of the needs of the body may 

 result in a fatty infiltration of its cells, for fat is the least readily 

 consumed variety of food, and where the other varieties are in 

 great abundance it may be guarded against destruction and remain 

 in the tissues. Furthermore, a part of the excess of other food- 

 materials may be converted into fat within the cells and be retained 

 by them. 



Fatty infiltration is a normal condition of many cells. Those 

 which form the characteristic element in adipose tissue (Fig. 65) are 



