A great mass of material is here marshaled by an active contributor to our knowledge of cell physiology. He critically and judicially examines the evidence for the participation of physical processes in the interactions of cells and their environments. The chemical aspects of the problems are not discussed and their importance is minimized. To what extent, he asks, can we explain the phenomona of cell division and growth, of fertilization, phagocytosis and ciliary movement in terms of surface tension, permeability, electric charge, hydrogen ion concentration and colloidal state? Incidentally, many of the significant results of the tissue culture and microdissection methods are reviewed. All this is preceded by surveys of cell physiology, colloidal systems and protoplasmic structure. Under the circumstances, mathematics must needs "perk a learned snout far beyond the cellarage of a footnote," but not often, and the general conclusions are usually stated so as to be clear to
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James Gray (1931) studied this question.