UNSW Embryology

Development History- History of Science- Leeuwenhoek

© Dr Mark Hill (2008)

Acknowledgements

LEEUWENHOEK DISCOVERS BACTERIA

by Henry Smith Williams, M.D., LL.D.

 

The seventeenth century was not to close, however, without another discovery in science, which, when applied to the causation of disease almost two centuries later, revolutionized therapeutics more completely than any one discovery. This was the discovery of microbes, by Antonius von Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), in 1683. Von Leeuwenhoek discovered that "in the white matter between his teeth" there were millions of microscopic "animals"--more, in fact, than "there were human beings in the united Netherlands," and all "moving in the most delightful manner." There can be no question that he saw them, for we can recognize in his descriptions of these various forms of little "animals" the four principal forms of microbes--the long and short rods of bacilli and bacteria, the spheres of micrococci, and the corkscrew spirillum.

 

The presence of these microbes in his mouth greatly annoyed Antonius, and he tried various methods of getting rid of them, such as using vinegar and hot coffee. In doing this he little suspected that he was anticipating modern antiseptic surgery by a century and three-quarters, and to be attempting what antiseptic surgery is now able to accomplish. For the fundamental principle of antisepsis is the use of medicines for ridding wounds of similar microscopic organisms. Von Leenwenhoek was only temporarily successful in his attempts, however, and took occasion to communicate his discovery to the Royal Society of England, hoping that they would be "interested in this novelty." Probably they were, but not sufficiently so for any member to pursue any protracted investigations or reach any satisfactory conclusions, and the whole matter was practically forgotten until the middle of the nineteenth century.

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Medicine in the 16th and 17th Century

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History Pages:

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Arabian Medicine | Mediaeval | The great anatomists | The coming of Harvey | Leeuwenhoek | 16th and 17th Medicine | Philosopher-Scientists | 18C Anat/Physiol | Part 2 | Part 3 | 19th C Anat/ Phys Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Evolution Part 1 | Part 2 | Medicine 18th | 19th Pt1 | 19th Pt2 | Brain and Mind | Brain Structure

Development Notes ----------------- Menstrual Cycle Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Placenta Serial Images Genes/DNA Molecular Dev Abnormal Dev Postnatal Dev Notes Index

System Notes ----------------- Heart/Cardiovascular Respiratory Coelomic cavity Gastrointestinal Tract Head and Neck Neural Neural Crest Eye Ear Nose Endocrine Urogenital Musculoskeletal Integumentary

Movies ----------------- Embryo Growth Ultrasound Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Stage 13/14 Stage 22 Neural Head and Neck Heart Vasculature Gastrointestinal Urogenital Other Embryos Larsen Internet

Other Embryos ----------------- Chicken Fly Frog Mouse Rabbit Rat Worm Zebrafish Guinea Pig

Comments

Introduction- A History of Science

I have included extracts from the 4 volume set of A HISTORY OF SCIENCE by Henry Smith Williams, M.D., LL.D. assisted by Edward H. Williams, M.D. A set of texts published early in the 20th century. I recommend reading the 4 volumes as they are an interesting read and written with a different "feel" in language to those texts written today where brevity is carried to such lengths as to make most writings either bland or uninteresting.

This section of notes provides an historic context for the notes covering recent developments in Embryology Research.

Please email Dr Mark Hill if you wish to make a comment about this current project.

UNSW Embryology ISBN: 978 0 7334 2609 4

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