386 POISONS, CONTAGIONS, MIASMS. 



amorphosis of which the exciter has been originally 

 formed. 



It is also obvious, that if the exciter be able to 

 impart its own state of transformation to one only 

 of the component parts of the mixed liquid acted 

 upon, its own reproduction may be the consequence 

 of the decomposition of this one body. 



This law may be applied to organic substances 

 forming part of the animal organism. We know that 

 all the constituents of these substances are formed 

 from the blood, and that the blood by its nature and 

 constitution is one of the most complex of all exist- 

 ing matters. 



Nature has adapted the blood for the reproduction 

 of every individual part of the organism ; its princi- 

 pal character consists in its component parts being 

 subordinate to every attraction. These are in a per- 

 petual state of change or transformation, which is 

 effected in the most various ways through the in- 

 fluence of the different organs. 



The individual organs, such as the stomach, cause 

 all the organic substances conveyed to them which 

 are capable of transformation to assume new forms. 

 The stomach compels the elements of these sub- 

 stances to unite into a compound fitted for the for- 

 mation of the blood. But the blood possesses no 

 power of causing transformations ; on the contrary, 

 its principal character consists in its readily suffering 

 transformations ; and no other matter can be com- 

 pared in this respect with it. 



Now it is a well-known fact, that when blood, 

 cerebral substance, gall, pus, and other substances 

 in a state of putrefaction, are laid upon fresh 

 wounds, vomiting, debility, and at length death, 

 are occasioned. It is also well known, that bodies 

 in anatomical rooms frequently pass into a state of 

 decomposition which is capable of imparting itself 

 to the living body, the smallest cut with a knife, 

 which has been used in their dissection, producing 

 in these cases dangerous consequences. 



