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| Discovery of the Cell |
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| The history of the discovery of cells dates back to the 17th century and is closely associated with the history of the invention of microscopes. An Italian microscopist Marcello Malpighi studied the structure of some plants and proposed the idea that plants are composed of tiny structural units. He called them as 'Utricles'. |
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| fig. 12.1 - Marcello Malpighi |
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| However, it was Robert Hooke who examined thin sections of a bottle cork under a crude microscope and found hexagonal boxes or chambers packed together like a honeycomb. He used the word 'cells' to describe these structures. He published his observations along with figures, in Micrographia, in the year 1665. |
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| fig. 12.2 - Robert Hooke |
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| Subsequently, other scientists including Anton Von Leeuwenhock observed such structures in various other organisms. With the improvement in microscopes, more and more observations were made and the fact that living organisms are composed of cells was clearly established. |
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