BEALE'S PROTOPLASMIC AND THE CELL THEORY. 57 



by the action of oxidation of these " (p. 281). From the 

 above physical characters, common to all protoplasm, 

 it appears to be precisely the same in all living 

 structures. " The germinal matter of an embryo 

 resembles that of the tissues of the adult, and the 

 germinal matter from the most inveterate morbid 

 growth could not be distinguished from that of a 

 healthy tissue ;" nor can that of the lowest fungus 

 and of the brain of man be distinguished, by micro- 

 scopic or other physical examination. 



The Relation between Beale's Protoplasmic Theory 

 and the Cell Theory. From what has been said, it is 

 plain that the idea of the cell, either in its triple or 

 double form, as the ultimate morphological or physio- 

 logical unit, is simply abolished altogether, already in 

 the year 1860. Nevertheless, as the cell, in some form 

 or other, is an anatomical fact, it is necessary to say a 

 few words in elucidation of the correspondence be- 

 tween the current nomenclature of parts already 

 known and that of Dr. Beale. The latter would still 

 retain the word cell as a convenient term to indicate 

 the anatomical unit, or elementary part, with the 

 proviso that there must always exist the two radi- 

 cally distinct portions viz., the bioplasm and the 

 formed material, however complicated and varied the 

 last may be. In some so-called cells there is nothing 

 but bioplasts and intercellular substance, which latter 

 corresponds to the cell wall. In other cells there is no 

 solid cell wall, but only the bioplasm, and the formed 

 material is represented by the secretion e.g., the 

 liver cells. In others e. g., the so-called secreting 

 cells there is, besides the bioplasm, the secretion and 



