298 . The Structure of Colored Blood- Corpuscles. 



He answers the first parts of these interrogatories in the 

 negative, and holds that it is " not living, bnt results from 

 changes occurring in colorless living matter, just as cuticle, or 

 tendon, or cartilage, or the formed material of the liver-cell, 

 results from changes occurring in the germinal matter of each 

 of these cells." He says, "The colorless corpuscles, and those 

 small corpuscles which are gradually undergoing conversion into 

 red corpuscles, are living, but the old red corpuscles consist of 

 inanimate matter. They are no more living than the cuticle or 

 the hard horny substance of nail or hair is living." 1 He there- 

 fore denied the contractility and amoeboid movement of colored 

 blood-corpuscles. 



Klebs was the first who accorded them life and contractility. 2 

 He did this because, on preventing evaporation and raising the 

 temperature of blood, he noticed, aside from motion of the cor- 

 puscles, the protrusion and retraction of knobs, and the forma- 

 tion and disappearance of scallops. But, though the correctness 

 of his observation was not doubted, his inferences were strenu- 

 ously contradicted by Rollett and others. 3 Lanhester observed 

 "amoeboid figures" when colored blood-corpuscles had been 

 subjected to the action of dilute ammonia and acetic acid, of 

 which he says: 4 "The behaviour of these corpuscles under 

 alternate weak ammoniacal and acid vapors furnished a very 

 curious parallel to the movements of amoeboid protoplasm, and 

 a careful consideration of the phenomena may throw some light 

 on the nature of protoplasmic contractility." Bottcher admits 

 the possibility of vital contractility, but thinks it cannot be com- 

 pared to that of colorless blood-corpuscles." 5 Briiclce,* also, 

 admits cautiously this possibility. Prei/er 7 uses many qualify- 

 ing expressions, such as "only in part," "under certain circum- 

 stances," "in some degree," "temporarily," "at certain times." 



(1) Idem. p. 43. 



(2) Centralblatt fur medizinische Wissensch. 1863. No. 514, p. 851. 



1 3) For the views of Rollett, Max Schultze. Kuhne, etc . see Strieker's Handbuch, cit., Leipzig 

 (1869) Edition, p. 297 ; American Reprint (1872), p. 286. 



(4) Op. c, p. 378. 



(5) Archiv filr mikr. Anat, vol. XIV, cit. p. 91: translated in Quart. Journ. of Microsc. 

 Sci.. Oct., 1877, p. 391. 



(6) L. c. 



(7) Op. c, p. 417, et seq. 



