162 Canadian Record of Science. 



The question, however, cannot as yet be considered as set- 

 tled and it will take years of confirmatory observations 

 before the circumstances and conditions favorable to its 

 development and destruction are known. The results so far 

 achieved may be thus summarized : — 



All Epitheliomas (the most frequent variety of cancer) 

 have certain microscopical organisms associated with them 

 which are more numerous in actively growing malignant 

 types ; that they pass through amoeboid, resting and sporu- 

 lation stages ; that they undoubtedly belong to the Protozoa ; 

 that the irritation, in some way set up by their presence, 

 causes proliferation in the surrounding cells, which make 

 up the cancerous mass. The organism is extremely minute, 

 and makes its appearance first in the nucleus of the grow- 

 ing cancer cell. It then enlarges and may subdivide several 

 times. The nueleus is destroyed by it, the nuclear capsule 

 or caryotheca ruptures and the organism escapes into the 

 body of the cell. Here it undergoes further development, 

 encysts and sporulates, and these escaping, invade other 

 cells and the process is repeated. These are briefly the 

 results so far obtained and the various observers seem to be 

 very uniform in their conclusions. 



Here then we have three organisms which are parasitic 

 on man, are similar to each other morphologically and in 

 the stages which they undergo, but which produce far dif- 

 ferent effects upon their host and this is because of the dif- 

 ferent parts invaded. As to the allied nature of the Plas- 

 modium malaria3 and the cancer organism there can be little 

 doubt. As to their relation to Amoeba Coli we cannot say, 

 because we only know the latter as yet in the amoeba 

 stage; the sporulation and encysting condition may yet be 

 discovered in the cells which are destroyed. 



Now the question arises to what group of the Protozoa do 

 they belong, and to what forms are they most nearly allied. 

 The Protozoa have been subdivided into two branches, 

 the Gynomyxa and the Corticata. These are distinguished 

 by the absence in the former, and the presence in the latter 

 of a distinct membrane which gives in their dominant phase 



