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126 THE MICROORGANISMS OF THE HUMAN MOUTH.

most perl}tlieral ii'ranules send delicate conical ott'slioots through
the surrounding light space toward the unchanged hasis-suh-
stance. In some of the enlarged canalicnli, accumulations of
living matter are seen fully in the shape of nuclei. Sometimes
two or more such nuclei may he seen surrounded hy a varying
amount of j^i'otoplasm (Fig. 54, d, d). Still nearer to the decay
the canaliculi are enlarged to ten or fifteen times their original
diameter, and the cavities thus produced are all filled with a
partly nucleated protoplasm (Fig. 54, c, e). Between the roundish
cavities we meet with longitudinal cavities, arisen from the con-
fluence of several cavities in one main direction (Fig. 54,/). The
cavities continue increasing in size, and form large spaces, with
rounded, bay-like l)Oundaries, between which only scanty traces
Lastly, the
of unchanged basis-substance are left (Fig. 54, //,//).
basis-substance has entirely disappeared, and only protoplasm is
visible in its place, either in the shape of multinuclear layers
or of irregular so-called medullary elements, with rather faint
marks of division (Fig. 54, A, A)."
So much for Abbott's explanation of the figure. But what,
in reality, are those cellular elements, clusters of protoplasm,
medullary elements, etc. ? T/ir)/ arc nv'sses of micro-organisms
77uxed with the debris of the decornposing dcrdine.
The discoveries of Abbott have received no confirmation,
whereas, on the other hand, the untenableness of the inflamma-
tory theory has been exposed by various authors. It is not
necessary therefore to call especial attention to the many points
of Abbott's argument, which, in my judgment, are at variance
with indisputable tacts. I will accordingly content myself with
a recital of the folh^wing oft-repeated tacts, which cannot be
made to tally with the postulates of the inflammatory theory of
decay.
1 . The elements which appear in inflammation of other tissues
of the animal body cannot be found in decayed dentine. Among
the thousands of preparations of decayed or decaying dentine
that I- have examined, I have not found there an}i:hing which I
could identilN^' with the process of inflammation, suppuration,
etc., illustrated by Heitzmann and Boedecker. The appear-
ances represented by these authors either do not occur at all in