MARTIN — DISCUH8ION ON CARflNOMA. 



599 



Pift 



The main opinioo*. however seem to ho thut the parasit«i is usually 

 spherical or oval, with a more or less rounded nucleus, this latter 

 occupjang a relatively small area of the parasites' protoplasm. The 

 ceJl hody is homogeneous or mottled, sometimes radially striated. 

 These striae were sujiposed by some to be evidences of reproduction, 

 such as is observed in malarial parasites. A capsule of double 

 contour surrounds the organism and seems to be intimately asso- 

 ciated with the nrotoplasm of the cancer cell, as though secreted 

 by the latter. Sometimes the organism seems to lie in a kind of cyst or 

 vacuole, in this way re8end>ling the bacilli of lepro.sy, where th(! same 

 condition often occurs. The parasite may be single or multiple within 

 the cell, and invades sometimes the nucleus, sometimes the protoplasm. 

 It is largely from the staining reactions that these are ditterentiated 

 from the various other structures above mentioned. Where, however, 

 so much strife is at present going on among the various English 

 investigators I will not attempt further details in this matter, inas- 

 much as there seems but little po.ssibility of rendering it more lucid 

 from our present knowledge. 



A point of interest, however, in regard to these bodies lies in the 

 fact that they are invariably found in greater numbers at the grow- 

 ing edge of the tumour, and inasmuch as the cells in these areas are 

 the youngest they are also least likely to be degenerated. Where, 

 too, the greatest degeneration is seen in the tumours one finds a dis- 

 tinct paucity of parasites. An examination of the individual cells 

 invaded by the parasite shows, further, that while little or no mitosis 

 is seen in them, there is active proliferatiim in adjacent cells, the 

 parasite thus acting as a stimulator of cell growth. 



These facts in themselves though suggestive of the possibility that 

 these organisms produce the cell proliferation, are of course far from 

 proving it. In attempting to establish the proof serious difficulties 

 arise, inasmuch as hitherto no t>ne has succeeded in isolating the para- 

 site and obtaining it in cultures. But the same is practically true of 

 other diseases — hydrophobia, scarlatina and many others. Further- 

 more, however, we cannot be satisfied that trnn-smission by inoculation 

 from man to man is possible. A few isolated cases have been recorded 

 where some of the lower animals have successsully been inoculated 

 and the transmitted portions have given rise to new growths with 

 metastases. This, it may be argued, is a mere grafting from one 

 animal to another, but inasmuch as the same organisms will be found 

 in the metastases of the inoculated animals, it remains yet to be 

 proven that there is not something else besides the simple trans- 

 plantation of cells. It is c uite as possible that the experimenters, 





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