On the origin of cancer / by James Ross.

  • Ross, James
Date:
[between 1870 and 1890?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the origin of cancer / by James Ross. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    greater; and the tumour itself, within certain limits to be here¬ after mentioned, acquires higher powers of self maintenance. This local change in the tumour must, however, be accompanied by correlative changes in the organism at large, in order that the equilibrium which will ensure the transmission of the variation to the offspring may be brought about. We shall now endeavour to trace how each increment of deviation acts upon the organism in such a manner as to produce this equilibrium. It has already been noticed, that the fact of the units of a wart being aggregated as a continuous growth, and losing al^ structural development, enables it frequently to maintain its individuality during the subsequent life-time of the individual; and this permanence will of itself tend to bring the aggre¬ gate forces of the organism into equilibrium with those of the tumour. Again, the increased powers of multiplication which loss of structural development gives to the units of a growth will enable it frequently, especially if aided by a certain amount of external irritation, to add constantly to its size; and size, other things being equal, will give to the tumour additional powers to modify the organism, and to bequeath a corresponding modifica¬ tion to the offspring. But there is another mode by which a tumour profoundly modifies the organism. When the tissues of a tumour acquire great molecular mobility by cell proliferation, some of its units will enter the circulation, and in this manner traverse the entire organism. We may infer, from deductive reasoning, that such transference of units will take place, and it is rendered certain, by observation, that this transference does actu¬ ally occur in the more infectious tumours. These units will tend to generate their like throughout the body, and in this manner they will bring the entire organism into equilibrium with the local growth ; and this, of course, will ensure the inheritance of the latter. The units distributed throughout the organism will, owing to the special affinities of the tissues, accumulate and form growths at certain foci ; and the implication is, that, at whatever part of the body the tissues become assimilated to the units of $ the tumour, the molecular forces which end in growth will be increased, while those which produce active function are diminished
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