ABSTRACT
A living body, considered as a physico-chemical mechanism, has some very remarkable properties, which, so far, no machine of human construction can imitate. The physical parts of the mechanism, such as the heart's action in pumping the blood, and the working of muscles and bones, are less remarkable than the chemical portions, but have at any rate the merit of seldom going seriously out of order. The most remarkable properties of a living body, as opposed to a lifeless one, are nourishment, growth, and predetermination. Growth is seen in its most remarkable form in the newly fertilized ovum, which rapidly divides into two cells, then four, then eight, and so on, while continually increasing in size. Growth is capable of assuming morbid forms, for instance, in cancer. Predetermination is exhibited not only in heredity, but in the ordinary repairs to the wear and tear of the body.
