Cytology - what is it?For the full disclosure of this term, one should refer to the ancient Greek language, since it is from it that it occurs. In translation from the ancient Greek, "kitos" is a cell, and "logos" is a doctrine. So, cytology - what is it? This is the science of cells. If to disclose the topic in more detail, it is worth saying that it studies their structure and principles of functioning.
History of the origin and development of science
The first microscope was invented in the middleXVII century. Actually, thanks to this device, cytology also appeared. What does it mean? The fact is that, precisely by observing living organisms through a primitive construction of magnifying glasses, the Englishman Robert Hook first discovered that they all consist of dividable microparticles. He called them cells. A decade later another researcher - Anthony van Leuwenhoek - found out that all cells have an ordered internal structure and certain patterns of functioning. He also owns the discovery of nuclei. At the same time, the idea of the structure of the cell and its vital activity was inhibited for a long time by the weak development of microscopes. The following significant steps were taken already in the middle of the XIX century, when the technique was significantly improved. The most important results of the cytology of this period as a science are the creation of a cellular theory and the discovery of protoplasm.
Cell theory
The discovery of protoplasm
Another major achievement of scientists in this field isthe discovery and description of protoplasm - a substance that fills the cellular organisms and is a kind of environment for its structural organs. Later knowledge about the protoplasm was deepened and somewhat changed in comparison with the original ones. Today, this cellular environment is called the cytoplasm.
Further development
Thanks to the research of the cell, in the second half of the XIXth discrete bodies, contained in the nucleus - chromosomes, were discovered. Their study, the discovery of that
Cytology - what is this for modern science?
Actually, the development of technical capabilities andscientific methodology have made cytology by the middle of the 20th century one of the most important areas of biological knowledge. Modern methods of cytology are used in breeding and breeding new types of plants useful for humans, researching cancer tumors and the possibilities of combating them, growing artificial organs and so on.