Dr. BealE;, oil the Germinal Matter of the Blood. 61 
living germinal matter still remain. These masses of living 
germinal matter may divide and subdivide; tliey may move 
amongst the fibrinous mass in which they are embedded ; 
and they may produce "fibrous tissue/^ or give rise to granu- 
lar^ rapidly-multiplying corpuscles^ like pus-corpuscles^ which 
grow at the expense of the fibrin and substances in the sur- 
I'ounding fluid. Bat I will not pursue further the changes 
which take place in a coagulum after its formation in the 
living bod}^ 
According to my view the fibrin is the formed material 
produced which results when the living or germinal matter of 
the white corpuscles dies under certain circumstances. In the 
course of these observations it will be remarked that I have 
scarcely referred to the observations of others. So much has 
been written upon this subject that to have given even a 
brief account of the views of modern writers would have 
required more space than has been devoted to this paper. I 
have^ therefore, only attempted to give my own views upon 
this most difficult subject,, and as they differ in all important 
particulars from the conclusions arrived at by others, I 
have not considered it necessary to refer to the literature of 
the subject. 
. Prof. Listeria Researches. 
But it would not be right to pass without notice the recent 
important observations of Prof. Lister On the Coagulation of 
the Blood/' " The Croonian Lecture/' June 11, 1863, "Pro- 
ceedings of the Royal Society, vol. xii, No. 56. Although 
Prof. Lister's experiments are mainly directed to disprove 
the ammonia theory of Dr. Bichardson, a new theory is 
advanced which involves the remarkable hypothesis, that 
" ordinary solids'' and vessels in a state of inflammation 
(when " temporarily deprived of all vital power") exert an 
active or attractive influence npon the fibrin, while healthy 
vessels and " living tissues" are perfectly " passive." It is 
impossible to admire too much the very careful and beautiful 
experimental observations of Prof. Lister, and it is certain 
they add much to our knoAvledge of the intricate subject 
of the coagulation ;^ but I confess myself unable to agree with 
the conclusions he has deduced from them. It seems to 
me that in many instances an explanation difierent to that 
arrived at by him might be offered. Nor do I think that 
he has fully borne in mind the different effects of a rough 
and smooth surface upon the process of coagulation. The 
surface of the smoothest of Prof. Lister's oi'dinary solids 
VOL. xii. e 
