ON THE REAL NATURE OF DISEASE GERMS. 855 
and the exudation is poured out from the blood more abun- 
dantly; the masses of bioplasm increase in number yet faster, 
and the exudation in consequence appears nearly opaque. 
The flocculi are of a yellowish colour, and look very like 
pieces of clotted cream which stick here and there to the 
peritoneum, covering the intestines and the inner surface of 
the abdominal parietes. Not unfrequently the surface is 
smeared over in places with whitish pasty masses of soft 
cream-like matter, in the intervals between which the highly- 
injected vessels stand out with great distinctness. The masses 
of bioplasm would now be called pus-corpuscles. Here, then, 
is an interesting example of the production (f pus-corpuscles by 
the rapid growth and multiplication of particles of bioplasm which 
were once in the blood , and intimately related to the white blood- 
corpuscles. 
But further : if, as is well known, a little of this material 
were to be introduced into the body, as may unfortunately 
happen from a dissection-wound in the course of making a 
a post-mortem examination, terrible inflammation may be 
excited in the person inoculated. The most tiny morsel of 
this virulent, rapidly-multiplying morbid bioplasm, may give 
rise to a dreadful form of “ blood-poisoning,” which may end 
fatally and in a very short time. 
In some cases similar poisonous particles which have been 
derived from a diseased organism are so very minute and 
light that they are supported by the air, and may find their 
way into the blood of a healthy (?) person through his respi- 
ratory organs, or may gain access to his circulating fluid by 
traversing the narrow chinks between the epithelial cells of 
the cuticle. 
Nature of Virulent Disease Germs . — Now, what is the nature 
of the matter inoculated, which produces these dreadful 
results? The virulent poison which sometimes destroys life 
in cases of dissection-wounds cannot be attributed to the 
presence of vegetable germs, for the period of its most 
virulent activity is very soon after death, but before the 
occurrence of putrefaction, when the vegetable fungus germs 
multiply.* A punctured wound is not dangerous if putre- 
factive decomposition has taken place, because, although 
bacteria are developed in immense numbers, the real contagious 
virus is dead . The vegetable germs, in fact, grow 7 and flourish 
upon the products resulting from the death of the dangerous 
animal living poison. In short, this material is living and 
very actively-growing germinal matter ; living matter which 
retains its life after the death of the organism in which it 
* See ‘Disease Germs: tlieir Supposed Nature . 5 
