Morning journal and courier., 1893-04-11
Vfrchow on Life Cells.

The following is part of the address
which the eminent German scientis., Vir-
chow, delivered in London the other day
before the Royal Society:
The way in which pathology has tried to
approach the desired goal, to fathom the
living substance in its diseased condition,
has led us great step forward. Patho-
logical anatomy especially has opened this
road. The more numerous its obserys-
tions, and the more 1t penetrated into the
| details of the legions, the smaller became
the field of so-cslled general diseases. The
first steps of medieval anatomists had the
effect of drawing the attention to local
diseases. In the first and longest period
| which one may define as that of regionism,
| the pathological anatomists sought the
cause of disease In one of the larger re-
gions or cavities of the body-in the head,
chest, or abdomen. In the second region,
| ushered in by the immortal work of Nor
gsgni shortly before the time of which
last spoke-the time of Brown aud Hunter
they endeavored to find In q certain
| region the actual origin which might be
| considered as the seat of disease. On this
| foundation arose the Partisan school of
II
| tury, held dominant position in patho-
/ logy. In this school already they recog-
| nizsd that not the organ, nor even a por-
ton of IL, could be the ultimate object of
| research.
| Xavier Bichat divided the organs into
tissues, and showed that in the same organ
sometimes one and sometimes another It's
cue might be the seat of disease. From
that time forward the eye of the pstholog-
Il II fnA sal sza- a.
changes in the tissues, but 1t soon became
apparent that even the Tissues are not sim
i ply substances Since the third decade of
| this century the microscope has disclosed
the existence of cells, hrst In plants, and
very soon afterwards In animals. Only
living beings contain cells, and vsge-
table and animal cells show SO much
similarity of structure that one can
demonstrate In them the actual pro-
duct of organisation. This convic-
ton has become general, since through
our embryologists, especially through
Schwann, proof has been afforded that the
construction of embryonic tissues was de-
rived from cells also In the highest ami
mails and in man himself In the fourth
decade of this century the science of pa
theological anatomy has already begun to
be directed towards cells. The researches
very soon struck on great difficulties.
Many tissues. even In their developed
state, appeared 10 contain neither cells nor
their equivalents; nevertheless, 1 have
| been able to demonstrate their existence in
those tissues In which their presence ap-
| peared to be most doubtful-viE., In bone
and connective tissuee.
At the present time we are so far ad-
vanced as to be able to say that every living
tissue contains cellular elements. We go
step further even, for we require that
that tissue alone should be called living In
which the constant occurrence of cells can
be shown. A still greater diffisulty then
appeared-namely, to discover in what
way new cells originated The answer TO
this question had been very heavily p,eju-
dieed by the so-called cell. theory of
Schwann. Inasmueh as this very trust
worthy investigator asserted that new
cells originated from Uniformed matter.
from "cytoblsstemsn there Was opened
up q wide road to the old doctrine
of the "generstio equivoca," which
affords all partisans of plastic mate
rials an easy way OF rsviving their dogma.
The discovery of connective and allied
tissues gave me the first possibility of find
ing acellular matrix for many new growths
One observation followed another, and /
was soon in q position to give utterancs to
the diotum, "Omnis oellulaa cellula-n And
SO at last the great gap was closed which
Il
tory of new growth, or, to speak more
generally, in the history of animal organi-
zation- The begsttipg of q new cell from
q previous cell supplements the repro
duction of one individual from another,
of the child from the mother The law of
the continuity of animal DEVELOPMENT
is therefore identical with the law of he
redity, and this now was able to apply
to the whole field of pathological new for
nation. I blocked for ever the last loop
hole of the opponents, the doctrine of the
specific cells of pathology, by showing that
even diseased life produced no cells for
which types and ancestors were not forth
coming In normal life.
These are the fundamental PRINCIPLES of
cellular pathology. In proportion as they
have become more certain, and, lastly, of
more general value, they have also secured
for themselves great Importance In physi-
ology. The cell is not only the seat and
vehicle of disease, but also the seat and
carrier of individual life; In ID re-.
sides the "vits propria-" It possesses
the property of irritsbility, and the
changes in its substance, provided thsse do
not destroy life, produce local disease Dis.
ease presupposss life; should the cell die,
: its disease also comes to an end. Certainly,
as consequence, the neighboring and
! Tar distant calls may become diseased, hu