  We emphasize that the composite structure of the nucleon may play quite an
important role in nuclear physics. It is shown that the momentum-dependent
repulsive force of second order in the scalar field, which plays an important
role in Dirac phenomenology, can be found in the quark-meson coupling (QMC)
model, and that the properties of nuclear matter are well described through the
quark-scalar density in a nucleon and a self-consistency condition for the
scalar field. The difference between theories of point-like nucleons and
composite ones may be seen in the change of the $\omega$-meson mass in nuclear
matter if the composite nature of the nucleon suppresses contributions from
nucleon-antinucleon pair creation.
