The History of Cytology

! During the seventeenth century, a scientific explosion took place in Europe, especially
concerning the development of lenses, which can bend light and magnify objects.
! The use of newly invented microscopes enabled the formation of the cell theory.
! The major tenets of the cell theory are that:
• The cell is the smallest structural unit of living organisms.
• Cells arise from preexisting cells.

In the 1600s, Anton Van Leeuwenhoek used

lenses to view “wee beasties,” creatures that
couldn’t be seen with the naked eye, such as
the Paramecium species pictured on the left.

Later in the 1600s, Robert Hooke, inspired

by an approaching meeting with The Royal
Society, designed a simple microscope.
Using his microscope, Hooke observed that the
cork was made of box-like structures that he
called “cells.”

From the early to mid 1800s, scientists began

to formalize observations about cells.
In 1805, Oken proclaimed that all organic
beings originate from and consist of vesicles of
cells.

In 1809, Jean Baptiste Lamarck stated the

same proposal.

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 In 1838 and 1839, Matthias Schleiden and
Theodor Schwann unified the cell Theory,
extending it to include the plant and animal
kingdoms.

In 1858, Rudolph Virchow proposed that

cells come from preexisting cells, thus
challenging the ongoing theory of
spontaneous generation.

Louis Pasteur performed a series of

experiments that disproved spontaneous
generation. The illustrations on the left show
Pasteur’s experimental design:

Boiled broth, devoid of microorganisms, is

placed in regular and swan-necked flasks.

In time, bacteria grow in the regular flask. As

the broth cools in the swan-necked flask, a
pool of condensed water forms in the bottom
of the S, sealing the flask. No microorganisms
grow in the broth.

Later, the neck is broken off, and outside air

can enter the flask, carrying microorganisms
with it. Subsequently the broth becomes
contaminated with microorganisms.

The experiment demonstrates that the

microorganisms are airborne and do not
spontaneously arise in the broth.

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