Course Overview
Introduction
Cell is a basic unit of life and it is considered as structural and functional unit of an organism. Robert
Hooke (1665) discovered cell. He first observed the cell in a piece of dead cork cells. He described cell
in his book “Micrographia”.
Leeuwenhoek (1674) first observed animal(living) cell and used the term “Animalcule” for it.
The study of cell stucture is called cytology. The study of cell sturcture, function & reproduction is called
Cell biology.
Term ‘cytology’ was coined by ‘Hertwig’ who wrote a book entitled ‘cells & tissues’. Robert Hooke
is known as ‘Father of cytology’.
Swanson is called the ‘Father of modern cytology’
According of Dutrochet (1824) ‘Cell is the basic unit of life’. He believed in individuality of
cells. Lamarck stated that all living beings are formed of cells.
Loewy and Siekevitz (1963) defined cell as the unit of biological actvity delimited by a selective
permeable membrane and capable of self reproduction in a medium free from other living systems.