New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-11-14
THE SEAT OF LIFE IN MAN.
PROFESSOR vIRCHow REITERATEs HIS
OPINIONS.
IMPoRTANCE OF THE CELr.-MAN not A INIT
Br'T 4 COMMUNITY OF LfVEs-ERRONE-
OILS THEORIES or DISEASE.

Blr COMMUNITY OF LiyEs-ERRoNE'
ous THEORIES or DISEASE
The recent visit OF Or. Rudolph Vrchow, the
German biologist to England and his lecture be-
fore the Charing Cross Hospital Medical Schooi,
were events Of no little interest This eminent
investigator is now seventy seven years oid
and yet age has scarcely touched him. Except
FOR a somewhat feeble voice one would hardy
detect any evidence Of weakness in his manner
or appearance. on the occasion OF MS lecture
ne was honored by the presence on the plat
form OF Lord Lister, Sir Henry Thompson "iF
Douglas Cation. Sir William Higgins, Sir John
Evans and a number of other scientlhc men,
nearly all Of whom were septuagenarians. Rare
ly are so many persons distinguished Tor their
services to civilization seen together In Eng
land, outside Of the meetings OF the Koyai DO
ciety and the British Association for the Ad-
vancement OF Science.
Professor virchow spoke in the language most
familiar to his audience and his enumeration
was excellent 1t was remarked at the time
that It was doubtful whether any Engiishmah
Of the same age could address French or Ger
man audience in similar manner WIZ" "S
much finish and success.
ably his study and reduction to order Of the
varied morbid growths called "tumors' ana
his classification of them with reference to the
age Of the patient But he has investigated
many other phases Of disease. and has also
taken an active part In municipal and national
| politics. He was an Alderman in Berlin. and
has occupied seat in the Prussian Landtag.
"CELLULAR PATHOLOGY"
Professor Virchow's name has been closely
associated in the scientific world with theory
OF disease which makes the cells the seat OF life,
and consequently Of all disorders. He is some
times spoken o. indeed, as the father OF "celu-
lar pathology"-as this doctrine is called. The
old notion was that man is unit IN MS eNls'-
euce. but the modern theory is that each cell
has its own life and that man IS therefore an
association OF living beings. In fact, he Is pc
lieyed to bear substantially the same relation
To- the cells as a nation does to its citizens lie
s a grand composite, not an individual To
deal with disease then, one must aim to AFFECT
the cells Of the organ which is involved. Pro-
fessor Virchows lecture in London early In
the month was largely a reassertion OF TINS
doctrine.
Paracelsus the medieval philosopher con-
| ceived that life Was the work Of a special 'spir-
| Itus" and acted upon matter from without as
| unon a machine Francis Gibson. Professor
| Virchow remarked the other day was one Of the
! first scientific men to teach that life was in
| herent in matter Unfortunately, said the lect-
| urer. Gibson failed to distinguish between anil
| mate and inanimate matter. He regarded ''ir-
ritabiity." or the disposition to respond In
| some way when excited by touch or otherwise,
| tba a. cha rStic Of
Another old school of scientists held that the
seat Of lie was the blood and that all disease
was caused by trouble with that fluid. This
theory. known as 'humoral pathology" was dis
carded by Huxley and Vrchow at about the
same time Huxley then studying life in
the Charing Cross Hospital. where fifty years
| later the now venerable German biologist offers
| tribute to his memory.
Professor Vrchow added: The greatest diti-
Guilty in the advance of biology has been the
| natural tendency Of it's disciples to set the
search after the unity OF life In the forefront Of
| their Inquiries. Hence arose the doctrine OF
| vital force an assumption now discarded, but
still revealing It's influence from time 10 time in
! isolated errors No satisfactory progress can be
| made till the idea Of highly organized living
| things as units has been set aside; till 1t is
| recognized that they are in reality organisms
| each constituent part Of which has its special
| life Ultimate analysis Of higher animals and
| pants brings us alike to tho cell and 1t is these
| single parts the cells which to be regarded
as the factors Of existence. The discovery Of
| the DEVELOPMENT Of complete beings from the
| ova Of animals and the germ cells Of plants has
| bridged the gap between isolated living cells
| and complete organisms and has enabled the
study Of the former to De employed in elucidat-
| ING the life Of the latter. In medical school,
| where the teaching is almost exclusively con-
| cerneI with human beings. this sentence should
| be writ large The organism il not an individ
uaL but "A social mechanism TWO coroIlaries
| must also be siated-OD that every living organ
ism like every organ and tissue, contains cells;
60 that the cells are composed Of organic chem
zeal substances which are not themselves alive"
PROFESSOR sCIiWANN's MISTAKE
I'm simplifying the cell theory. the lecturer re-
,narkr, that Schwann. famous Ge'man ply
siologist who died I'm lsS2. erred in suppos-
ing that certain growths Of u diseased charac-
ter If not Of healthy tissue. could proceed freely
without any parental cells. This belief ignored
the distinction between living and non-living
matter and amounted to spontaneous genera
ton" But by long observation and experiment
Professor Virchow VAS able to extend 10 dis
ease maxim that as already well established
otherwise that all life must come from ante
cedent life Or to put the idea IN modern lam
euage every cell owes its origin TO some other
cell
II Is admitted that large class Of diseases
are the product Of microbes, or parasites. that
invade the system. But apart from Infection,
Professor Virchow attributes disease TO the In
herited properties Of the cells OF the organ ar
fected However he Is careful To avoid push