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| Introduction |
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 The cells that make up our body are so small that you could fit over 200 of them on the full stop at the end of this sentence |
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 Before we plunge into the chapter, here are some interesting facts about cells. Read on... |
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 The word cell is derived from the Latin word “cellula” which means “a little room” |
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 It was the British botanist Robert Hooke who, in 1664, while examining a slice of bottle cork under a microscope, found its structure resembling the box-like living quarters of the monks in a monastery, and coined the word “cells” |
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 In the year 1838, Matthias Schleiden, a German botanist, first proposed the idea that all plants consist of cells |
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 The Dutch scientist A.V.Leeuwenhoek, in 1674, discovered the minute forms of life such as bacteria and single celled animals in a drop of water |
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 In 1839, Theodar Schwann, another German botanist, asserted that all plants and animals are made up of cells |
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 In 1831, Robert Brown discovered the nucleus in the cell |
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 J.E.Purkinje, in 1840, used the term protoplasm to describe the juicy, slimy gelatinous contents of the cell |
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 In 1885, Rudolf Virchow expressed that all cells arise from pre-existing cells |
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 In 1932, two German Scientists, Ruska and Knoll, invented the electron microscope |
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 Man is estimated to have about 100 trillion (1014) cells in number |
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