Download Step 1: The History of the Cell Theory

Step 1: The Development of Cell Theory
The History of the Cell Theory
1. Prior to the 17th century, the world of microscopic life was _______________. Why?
2. After the first observations of microscopic life, it took ______________ of research before the
Cell Theory was formulated.
3. The first description of the cell is credited to _______________ in 1665, following the
publishing of Micrographia. What did his term ‘cells’ refer to?
4. What did van Leeuwenhoek see under his microscope? What did he conclude from his
observation?
5. The existence of a living microscopic world was seen a bridge between inanimate matter and
living organisms visible to the naked eye. Today, we know that the inanimate and living word
are not connected by cells. However, in the 18th century, the existence of the microscopic world
seemed to initially support the theory of spontaneous generation. Who was the first to disprove
this theory and what did he show?
6. Felice Fontana visualized the nucleus in epithelia (skin) cells in 1781; however it was
_______________ that introduced the term ‘nucleus’ and recognized that it is an
___________________ of living cells.
7. a) What did Matthias Jakob Schleiden suggest in 1838?
b) What did Theodor Schwann conclude the following year?
8. a) What did Robert Remake, Rudolf Virchow, and Albert Kolliker show?
b) This became the basis of the theory of _______________, even though the mechanisms of
nuclear division were not understood.
9. The cell was also seen as the basic element of the ____________________.
10. Following the formulation of the Cell Theory, the basic constituents of the cell were:
1.
2.
3.
Cell Theory
11. What does the cell theory state?
12. a) What were the original tenents of the cell theory?
b) What are the modern tenents of the cell theory?
c) What is the greatest difference between the original and modern Cell Theory?