Organon

“ It may be that, in the nucleo-proteids and in the nucleins, their albuminous components are the deciding factor. A systematic study of the nuclear structure of the various cells of the same individual may enable us to determine the question, whether albumens that are in harmony with the nucleus take part in its construction, or whether the nucleus plays a part, in the cellular metabolism, which is repeated in an identical manner in the various cells of the same individual. ”

“ On blood corpuscles, see ‘Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science,’ April 1874, p. 185.’ [page 61]
under a high power, is the appearance of the finest granules in the fluid within the cells, making it slightly cloudy. These granules soon aggregate into small globular masses. I have seen a cloud of this kind appear in 10 s. after a drop of a solution of carbonate of ammonia had been given to a gland. With dark red leaves the first visible change often is the conversion of the outer layer of the fluid within the cells into bag-like masses. ”

“ It is not primary constituents that the germ contains, according to Delage, it is chemical substances, for instance muscle substances, probably 'les substances caractéristiques des principales catégories de cellules, c'est-à-dire, celles qui, dans ces cellules, sont la condition principale de leur fonctionnement.' All these must be contained in the ovum. How they are to reach their proper place in the organism, how the 'characteristic chemical substance' of a mole is to land just behind the right or left ear of the fully formed man, is not stated. ”

“ The possibility of breeding single cells and pieces of tissues in the blood plasma outside the organism, and keep them alive for a certain time, opens out a prospect of answering many problems by experimental means. We shall see in due course why some of the cells lose their normal functions when the secretion of certain organs is lacking. The number of possibilities is almost unlimited. For example, some substances, such as grape sugar, can only be dissociated by the cells into final products—carbon dioxide and water—after they have been prepared in a certain manner. ”

“ The number of possible combinations is infinite. Again, the units are present in unequal quantities. Finally, one very important factor must be allowed for. No cell is composed of only one albumen particle, one carbohydrate, and one fatty substance; on the contrary, we always find mixtures of these. So that, given quite similar compounds, e.g., several albumens, the cell has the power of making up mixtures of various kinds which give it a special stamp. By these means we see then that the possibilities for the production of specifically constructed kinds of cells are infinite. ”

“ This body is called the nucleus of the cell, and the small one within it, the nucleolus.
The membrane surrounding the cell is known as the cell wall, and in young plant cells is always composed of cellulose.
The granular substance lining the cell wall (Fig. 1, pr.) is called “protoplasm,” and with the nucleus constitutes the living part of the cell. If sufficiently magnified, the granules within the protoplasm will be seen to be in active streaming motion. This movement, which is very evident here, is not often so conspicuous, but still may often be detected without difficulty. ”

“ Another step further and we arrive at cell complexes having definite functions, which we call organs. But even the most developed organisms, both of the animal and plant worlds, have relations with cells which stand outside the common organization. By means of micro-organisms the plant gains access to otherwise inaccessible sources of nitrogen, while by means of bacteria the animals make use of the important carbohydrate, cellulose. The bacteria convert the latter, within the intestines, into products which can be further decomposed by the ferments secreted by the glands. ”

“ If cancer cells or sarcoma cells, for instance, appear, then we have cells before us which are neither subordinate to, nor co-ordinate with, the rest of the complex of cells. These cells have obviously reached a definite state of independence, nor do they maintain any direct relations with the different cells of the body. They are, so to say, outside the association of the cells of a particular organ, nor is there any doubt that they produce secretions, the products of their metabolism, which are out of harmony with the blood plasma. ”

“ The higher we climb in the scale of organization, particularly in the animal kingdom, the more do we meet with cells which are entrusted with special functions. For instance, we find cells which receive matter from the exterior. Others transform particular compounds into products of a special nature. Others, again, have the function of carrying the final products of metabolism to definite points for excretion.
A unicellular organism stands constantly in relation with numerous substances of the outer world, which differ from place to place and from time to time.. ”

“ As, moreover, the first thing which a cell does when it grows is to divide, the whole proceeding looks rather futile. But ready-made protoplasm of an assimilable shape is rare, and it is not often that a cell, unless it be a plant or a parasite, finds itself in a substance which can be handed straight to the nucleus without further elaboration. Usually the cell has to discharge from itself a reagent, which will develop the right chemical qualities in the matter it wants to absorb. This substance is known as an enzyme, or ferment. ”

“ We must remember that all the cells of an organism have identical chromo­somes, so that a factor for an enzyme like tyrosinase is contained in every cell throughout the whole body. It is likely, however, that the same factor (which we may conceive to be a definite chemical compound) will find a different chemical substrate to work on in the cells of different organs of the body, since the different organs differ in their chemical composi­tion. ”

“ Of these, carbon and oxygen unite, in certain proportions and under certain conditions, to give rise to carbonic acid; hydrogen and oxygen produce water; nitrogen and hydrogen give rise to ammonia. These new compounds, like the elementary bodies of which they are composed, are lifeless. But when they are brought together under certain conditions they give rise to the still more complex body, protoplasm, and this protoplasm exhibits the phenomena of life.’
Until we have further knowledge of the changes which constitute these phenomena, physiology must remain descriptive rather than explanatory. ”

“ Aggregation is excited by almost all the stimulants which induce movement; such as the glands being touched two or three times, the pressure of minute inorganic particles, the absorption of various fluids, even long immersion in distilled water, exosmose, and heat. Of the many stimulants tried, carbonate of ammonia is the most energetic and acts the quickest: a dose of 1/134400 of a grain (.00048 mg.) given to a single gland suffices to cause in one hour well-marked aggregation in the upper cells of the tentacle. ”

“ The staggering difficulties in imagining such a possibility are not merely on the chemical side—e. g., the produc­tion of proteins from CO2, and N—but also on the physical side if the necessity of a definite cell structure is considered. We shall see in the sixth chapter that without a structure in the egg to begin with, no forma­tion of a complicated organism is imaginable; and while a bacterium may have a simple structure, such a structure as it possesses is as necessary for its existence as are its enzymes. ”

“ But all our experience, hitherto, has proved, that even those cells which are constructed on a simple plan morphologically do, when studied from a purely chemical point of view, show exceedingly complicated relations. Indeed, the study of the processes of metabolism in unicellular forms of life is a study all the more difficult, in comparison with that of more complicated organisms, in that, in the former, it is so difficult to separate the actually absorbed materials from the metabolic by-products, and these again from the secretory or excretory products. ”

“ Where the analytical powers of the microscope in anatomy can go no farther, chemical analysis of the composition of the cell steps in. By its means the discovery is made that there is no elementary difference between organic and inorganic nature, for only such chemical elements as are known to exist in the inorganic world are found in the organic. On the other hand, however, the living cell-substance possesses chemical compounds which find analogues nowhere in inorganic nature. The characteristic organic substances which are present in every cell are proteids and proteid-compounds. ”

“ If albumin is ever produced by synthesis in the laboratory it will probably be dead albumin. All living organisms contain albumin; this is probably due to the fact that albuminoid matter is particularly adapted for the formation of osmotic membranes. Our osmotic productions are composed of the same elements as those which constitute living beings; an osmotic growth obtained by sowing calcium nitrate in a solution of potassium carbonate with sodium phosphate and sulphate contains all the principal elements of a living organism, viz. carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur, and phosphorus. ”

“ Finally, as so many and such widely different causes excite aggregation, it would appear that the living matter within the gland-cells is in so unstable a condition that almost any disturbance suffices to change its molecular nature, as in the case of certain chemical compounds. And this change in the glands, whether excited directly, or indirectly by a stimulus received from other glands, is transmitted from cell to cell, causing granules of protoplasm either to be actually generated in the previously limpid fluid or to coalesce and thus to become visible. ”

“ If we reduce organized beings to their ultimate organisms—cells or plastids—and with Spencer and Haeckel suppose these to be farther divisible into still smaller particles or plastidules, each composed of several complex particles of albumen or protoplasm, we may suppose the primary act of creation to consist in the aggregation of molecules of albuminous matter into such plastidules bearing the same relations, as "manufactured articles," to the future cell that inorganic molecules bear to crystals, and possessing within themselves [Pg 378] the potencies of organic forms. ”

“ The first two contain nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon, while fat and starch are rich in carbon, but lack nitrogen. In tracing back the development of living matter to its simplest form, it is found to exist as specks without any definite shape or structure, or as granules of extreme minuteness, perhaps the ten thousandth part of an inch in diameter.
This elemental living matter is called protoplasm. Its simplest form is termed a cell, and the word is applied to little bodies varying much in form. Thus some cells are really little bags filled with fluid. ”

“ The idea of an entirely specific structure for each cell of an organ—both from the chemical and physical points of view—is based not only on the supposition that, without such a notion, the special duties and functions of the separate cells of the body would appear incomprehensible, but, above all, on the above-mentioned fact that definite secretions given off by particular organs act constantly and only upon cells of a definite system. ”

“ Even when caused by the absorption of the carbonate or other salt of ammonia, or an infusion of meat, the process seems to be of exactly the same nature. The protoplasmic fluid must, therefore, be in a singularly unstable condition, to be acted on by such slight and varied causes. Physiologists believe that when a nerve is touched, and it transmits an influence to other parts of the nervous system, a molecular change is induced in it, though not visible to us. ”

“ I repeat that we must call in the aid of the hypothesis only as regards the Monera, the structureless "organisms without organs." Every complex organism must have been evolved from some lower organism. We must not assume the spontaneous generation of even the simplest cell, for this itself consists of at least two parts—the internal, firm nuclear substance, and the external, softer cellular substance or the protoplasm of the cell-body. These two parts must have been formed by differentiation from the indifferent plasson of a moneron, or a cytode. ”

“ If a cell is ruptured, neither the exuded matter nor that which still remains within the cell undergoes aggregation when carbonate of ammonia is added. A very strong solution of this salt and rather large bits of raw meat prevent the aggregated masses being well developed. From these facts we may conclude that the protoplasmic fluid within a cell does not become aggregated unless it be in a living state, and only imperfectly if the cell has been injured. ”

“ In an utterly lifeless planet inorganic colloids must first develop, and in time one of these must begin to evolve not a living cell, or anything so complex as a bacillus, but something in the way of a molecule holding a higher store of chemical energy than anything before it. Later such colloids, perhaps uniting with others, would begin to condense and form more complex organic molecules, and finally effect unions with crystalloids. Thus would organic complexity gradually be led up to, chlorophyll brought into being, and life appear. ”