586 



SCIENCE. 



Schultze, Beale, Hasckel, and others, that what was called 

 a "cell "was not a vesicle, but essentially a jelly-like 

 lump of living matter characterized by the presence of a 

 nucleus , soon after, Robin, Briicke, Kiihne, Strieker, 

 and others, conclusively showed that not even a nucleus 

 is an essential constituent of an elementary organism ; 

 and, biologists were compelled to transfer the power of 

 manifestirg vital properties to " living matter" instead of 

 restricting this power to any definite torm-element. 

 As long ago as in 1861, Briicke proposed to discontinue 

 the use of the word " cell " as being a misnomer and 

 misleading, and offered as a substitute the expression 

 " elementary organism." Beale proposed, instead, the 

 term "bioplast" to designate any definite mass of living 

 matter, and Hseckel the term "plastid." From the 

 latter I devised the word "plastidule" as synonymous 

 with ultimate molecule of the substance of living matter. 

 Elementary living matter is called with Dujardin 

 " sarcode," or with Von Mohl "protoplasm," or with 

 Beale "bioplasm," or, still better (because it is a desig- 

 nation etymologically more nearly meaning living, form- 

 ing matter), " bioplasson." Of these four synonymous 

 terms " protoplasm " is the one best known ; but has 

 been used in other senses, as well as to designate, merely, 

 elemental y living matter. I therefore think that 

 " bioplasson " is to be preferred. Of course, dead bio- 

 plasson is a contradiction in terms : bioplasson deprived 

 of vitality is no longer bioplasson at all, but merely the 

 chemical remains of what once was bioplasson. If this 

 be remembered, there will be no confusion, even it the 

 word be used in describing tissues, etc., after death. 

 According to Drysdale, Dr. John Fletcher of Edinburgh 

 was the first, who clearly arrived at the conclusion that 

 "it is only in virtue of a specially living matter, 

 universally diffused and intimately interwoven with its 

 texture, that any tissue or part possesses vitality." 



As Fletcher's work was published in 1835, several 

 years before even the establishment of the cell-doctrine, 

 we cannot but agree so far with Drysdale as to say that 

 Fletcher has framed a " hypothesis of the anatomical na- 

 ture of the living matter which anticipates in a remark- 

 able manner" its discover}' ! In 1850, Cohn 1 recognized 

 the protoplasm " as the contractile element, and as what 

 gives to the zoospore the faculty of altering its figure, 

 without any corresponding change in volume." He con- 

 cludes that protoplasm " must be regarded as the prime 

 seat of almost all vital activity, but especially of all the 

 motile phenomena in the interior of the cell." In 1853 

 Huxley 2 said "vitality, (the faculty, that is, of exhibiting 

 definite cycles of change in form and composition), is a 

 property inherent in certain kinds of matter." In 1856 

 Lord Osborne discovered carmine staining, and distin- 

 guished by means of coloring it the living formative mat- 

 ter from the formed material, a means which has borne 

 important fruits in the discovery of Cohnheim's staining 

 of living matter by gold chloride, and in that of Reck- 

 linghausen's staining all except living matter by silver 

 nitrate. 



In 1858, and in a number of later articles, 3 Max 

 Schultze, by showing that, as had been hypothetical])' 

 supposed by Unger, the movements of the pseudopodia 

 and the granules are really produced by active contractile 

 movements of the protoplasm, as well as by other ob- 

 servations, contributed much to the establishment of the 

 theory of living matter. Haeckel has also for many years, 

 and in various publications, 4 labored to maintain and ex- 

 tend the same theory, of which he thus expresses himself. 6 

 "The protoplasm or sarcode theory, that is the theory 



1 " NachtrSge zur Naturgcschichte des Protococcus pluvialis." Nova 

 acta Acad. Leop. 'Carol., vol., xxii., part i., p. 605. 



3 " Review of the Cell-theory." British and Foreign Mcdico-chirurg. 

 Review, Oct., 1853. 



* " Uebcr innerc Bewegungs-Erscheinungen bei Diatomeen," Jlfu tier's 

 Archiv, 1858, p. 330; "Ueber Cornuspira," Archiv /. Naturgesch., 

 i860, p. 287 ; " Ueber Muskelkorperchcn und das was man cine Zelle zu 

 nennen habe," Reickcrt und Dh liois-Reymond 's Archiv. 1861, p. 1 ; 

 Das Protoplasma der Rhizopoden und der Pflanzenzellen, Leipzig, 1863, 



that this albuminous material is the original active sub- 

 stratum of all vital phenomena may, perhaps, be considered 

 one of the greatest achievements of modern biology, and 

 one of the richest in results." And says Drysdale 6 : " if 

 the grand theory of the one true living matter was, as we 

 have seen, hypothetically advanced by Fletcher, yet the 

 merit of the discover}' of the actual anatomical repre- 

 sentation of it belongs to Beale, in accordance with the 

 usual and right award of the title of discoverer to him 

 alone who demonstrates truths by proof and fact. * * * 

 The cardinal point in the theoiy of Dr. Beale is not the 

 destruction of the completeness of the cell of Schwann as 

 the elementary unit, for that was already accomplished 

 by others. * * * But that, from the earliest visible 

 speck of germ, up to the last moment of life, in every liv- 

 ing thing, plant, animal, and protist, the attribute of life is 

 restricted to one anatomical element alone, and this hom- 

 ogeneous and structureless ; while all the rest of the in- 

 finite variety of structure and composition, solid and fluid, 

 which make up living beings, is merely passive and life- 

 less formed material. This distinction into only two 



Figure 4.— Thyroid Cartilage of Adult. Horizontal Section x 1200. 



C. Cartilage corpuscle. 



B. Hyaline basis-substance. 



G. Granules of living matter. 



radically different kinds of matter, viz., the living or 

 germinal matter and the formed or lifeless material, gives 

 the clue whereby he clears up the confusion into which 

 the cell-doctrine had fallen, and gives the point of depart- 

 ure for the theory of innate independent life of each part, 

 which the cell-theory had aimed at, but failed to make 

 good. The one true and only living matter— called by 

 Beale germinal matter, or bioplasm — is described as 

 ' always transparent and colorless, and as far as can be 

 ascertained by examination with the highest powers, per- 

 fectly structureless ; and it exhibits those same characters 

 at every period of its existence.' * * * 



The name of bioplasm, continues Drysdale, given by 

 Beale, or protoplasm, as indicating the ideal living matter, 

 cannot be given to any substance displaying rigidity in 

 any degree, nor to anything exhibiting a trace of struc- 

 ture to the finest microscope : nor to any liquid ; nor to 



4 Monographic der Radiolarien. 1862, pp 89, 116 ; " Ueber den Sar- 

 codekiirper der Rhizopoden," Zeitsch. t. Wissensch. Zoiilogie, 1865, p. 

 342 ; Generelle Morphologie, vol. i, pp. 269, 289. 



6 Monographic der Moneren," Jenaiscjie Zcitschft /. Mcdicin und 

 Naturivissenschaft, 1868, iv, 1 ; translation in Quarterly Journal 0/ 

 Microscopical Science, London, 1869, vol. ix, p. 223. 

 'l.oc. cit., 42, et seq. 



