Cell

Theory
Cell Theory: Definition
Development of Cell Theory
Microscopy: Foundation of the Cell
 Learning
Targets
At the end of this lesson, the students must be
able to
1. trace the development of the cell
theory;

2. recognize the personalities behind the

development of the cell theory;

3. explain the postulates of the cell

theory;

4. explain the role of the microscope in the

development of cell biology; and

5. discuss the functions of each microscope

part
Introductio
n
In 1665, British scientist Robert
Hooke paved the way to the
discovery of cells. Using a crude
microscope, he examined a piece
of cork and found little structures
in it which he compared to cellulae
(Latin for "little rooms"). As such,
he named these structures "cells."
Later, it was discovered that the
cells he had found in the cork were
actually outer walls of former plant
cells. .
Introductio
nThe first sight of humankind into
the nature of cells happened in
the late 1600s, when Dutch
scientist Anton van
Leeuwenhoek examined
different subjects, using a more
refined microscope than that of
Hooke. Inside the cells similar to
what Hooke described,
Leeuwenhoek found moving
protists, which he had then
referred to as animalcules.
Introductio
n
A century later, more scientists
learned about the nature of cells.
Their findings generated the
formulation of the cell theory and
the foundation of cell biology.
 How well do you know
these?
Questions

1. What is a cell?
2. What is the cell theory?
3. Who postulated the cell
theory?
4. How did microscopy help in
postulating the said theory?
5. How do you use a
microscope?
 What is a The cell theory, developed in the mid-
Acell?
cell is the smallest unit of a 1800s as a result of the various
living thing. It is the basic building discoveries about cells, is one of the
block of all living organisms. basic principles of biology.

plant cell animal cell bacteria cell

 Humans have about
37.2 trillion cells!

What is Humans are

multicellular

a cell? organisms.

A living thing may be made Euglena is a

of one cell (a unicellular unicellular
organism) or many cells (a organism.
multicellular organism).
Cell Theory
Generally, it states the following three
fundamental postulates.

1. The cell is the basic unit of life;/ structural/

functional unit of life.

2. All living organisms are composed of cells;

and

3. New cells are created from preexisting cells.

Cell Theory
First postulate: The cell is the basic unit of
life.

This statement simply explains-in order that an

organism may be considered living, it must have
a cell. Some organisms may be unicellular or one-
celled, such as bacteria; or multicellular or multi-
celled, such as animals. One proof that an
organism is alive just by looking at its cell is the
movement of the organelles inside it.
Cell Theory
In the cork that Hooke examined, the protoplasm of
the cells had already dissipated, indicating the cell's
death. When Leeuwenhoek observed his teeth
scrapings, he found animalcules shooting and
spinning inside the cell. This is because the
scrapings he viewed in his microscope contained
live bacteria.
 Fast Facts: Robert Hooke

Known For: Experiments with a microscope,

including the discovery of cells, and coining
of the term
Born: July 18, 1635 in Freshwater, the Isle of
Wight, England
Parents: John Hooke, vicar of Freshwater and
his second wife Cecily Gyles
Died: March 3, 1703 in London
Education: Westminster in London, and
Christ Church at Oxford, as a laboratory
assistant of Robert Boyle
Published Works: Micrographia: or some
Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies
Robert made by Magnifying Glasses with
Hooke Observations and Inquiries Thereupon
 Robert Hooke coined the term ‘cell’ in 1665.

Whilst observing plant cells, he

marvelled at how similar they looked to
the cells in monasteries. At that time,
Hooke was actually looking at the cell
walls of cork cells.
The discovery of the cell would not
have been possible if not for
advancements to the microscope.
Interested in learning more about the
Robert microscopic world, scientist Robert
Hooke Hooke improved the design of the
existing compound microscope in 1665.
 His microscope used three lenses
and a stage light, which illuminated
and enlarged the specimens. These
advancements allowed Hooke to
see something wondrous when he
placed a piece of cork under the
microscope. Hooke detailed his
observations of this tiny and
previously unseen world in his
book, Micrographia. To him, the
cork looked as if it was made of
Robert tiny pores, which he came to call
Hooke “cells” because they reminded him
of the cells in a monastery.
 Anton van Leeuwenhoek
(October 24, 1632–August 30, 1723)

Anton Van Leeuwenhoek is known as

the 'Father of Microbiology. ' He was the
first to observe single-cell organisms
that he called 'animalcules. ' He was
renowned for his improvements to the
microscope and for the many
discoveries that resulted from his
meticulous observations of the unseen
world, including protozoa and sperm in
mammals. Despite his lack of formal
education, which ended at elementary
Anton Van school, Van Leeuwenhoek was
Leeuwenhoek undoubtedly one of the major giants in
scientific history. Born in Delft in The
Netherlands in 1632 and died in 1723
 He invented the first practical
microscopes and used them to become
the first person to see and describe
bacteria, among other microscopic
discoveries. Indeed, van Leeuwenhoek's
work effectively refuted the doctrine of
spontaneous generation, the theory that
living organisms could spontaneously
emerge from nonliving matter. His
studies also led to the development of
Anton Van the sciences of bacteriology and
Leeuwenhoek protozoology.
Cell Theory
Second postulate: All living organisms
are composed of cells.
The declaration that all living organisms are made up
of cells was a collaboration between a botanist and a
physiologist. German botanist Matthias Jacob
Schleiden, a lawyer in practice who turned to science
to study plants, recognized Robert Brown's discovery
of the nucleus in 1833. In 1838, Schleiden established
that the small compartments in his plant specimens
are cells.
Cell Theory
Second postulate: All living organisms
are composed of cells.
He discussed his observations with his colleague,
physiologist Theodor Schwann. Schwann, after doing
microscopic studies of animal cells, correlated his
results with those of Schleiden's. He then instituted
that all animals are also composed of cells.
 Matthias Jakob Schleiden (born April 5,
1804, Hamburg [Germany]—died June
23, 1881, Frankfurt am Main, Germany)
was a German botanist, cofounder (with
Theodor Schwann) of the cell theory.

Schleiden was educated at Heidelberg

(1824–27) and practiced law in Hamburg
but soon developed his hobby of botany
into a full-time pursuit. Repelled by
contemporary botanists’ emphasis on
classification, Schleiden preferred to
Matthias study plant structure under the
Jacob microscope.
Schleiden
 • While professor of botany at the
University of Jena, he wrote
“Contributions to Phytogenesis”
(1838), in which he stated that the
different parts of the plant organism
are composed of cells or derivatives
of cells.
• Thus, Schleiden became the first to
formulate what was then an informal
belief as a principle of biology equal
in importance to the atomic theory of
chemistry.
• He also recognized the importance of
the cell nucleus, discovered in 1831
Matthias
by the Scottish botanist
Jacob
Robert Brown, and sensed its
Schleiden connection with cell division.
Schleiden was one of the first
German biologists to accept
 • Theodor Schwann (born December
7, 1810, Neuss, Prussia [Germany]
—died January 11, 1882, Cologne,
Germany) was a German
physiologist who founded modern
histology by defining the cell as the
basic unit of animal structure. He
was a cofounder (with
Matthias Jakob Schleiden) of the
Theodor cell theory.
Schwann
 • Schwann studied at the Jesuits’
College at Cologne before attending
the University of Bonn and then the
University of Würzburg, where he
began his medical studies. In 1834,
after graduating with a medical
degree from the University of Berlin
, Schwann assisted renowned
physiologist Johannes Peter Müller.
In 1836, while investigating
digestive processes, he isolated a
Theodor substance responsible for digestion
Schwann in the stomach and named it pepsin
, the first enzyme prepared from
animal tissue.
 • In 1839 Schwann took an appointment
as professor of anatomy at the
Catholic University of Leuven (Louvain)
in Belgium. That same year his seminal
work, Microscopical Researches into the
Accordance in the Structure and Growth
of Animals and Plants, was published. In
it he extended to animals the
cell theory that had been developed the
year before for plants by German
botanist Matthias Jacob Schleiden, who
was working at the University of Jena
and who Schwann knew well. At Leuven
Schwann observed the formation of
yeast spores and concluded that the
Theodor fermentation of sugar and starch was
Schwann the result of life processes. In this way,
Schwann was one of the first to
contribute to the germ theory of
alcoholic fermentation, later elucidated
Cell Theory
Third postulate: New cells are created from
preexisting cells.
Based on the cell studies of the scientists before
him, German scientist Rudolf Virchow introduced
the third tenet of the cell theory: Omnis cellula e
cellula, which means "Cells come from
preexisting cells." This elucidates that cells can
only be formed by the union of male and female
cells, or the division of a single cell. It disproved
the archaic theory of spontaneous generation,
which promoted the concept that living things
generated from nonliving matter.
 • Rudolf Virchow (born October 13,
1821, Schivelbein, Pomerania,
Prussia [now Świdwin, Poland]—
died September 5, 1902, Berlin,
Germany) was a German pathologist
and statesman, one of the most
prominent physicians of the 19th
century. He pioneered the modern
concept of pathological processes by his
application of the cell theory to explain
the effects of disease in the organs and
tissues of the body. He emphasized that
diseases arose, not in organs or tissues
Rudolf in general, but primarily in their
Virchow individual cells. Moreover, he
campaigned vigorously for social
reforms and contributed to the
development of anthropology as a
Development of Cell
Theory
Aside from Hooke, Leeuwenhoek, Schleiden, and
Virchow, many othe scientists worked on the
study of cells which led to the development of
the cell theory. In this timeline, we shall
recognize these individuals and the
contributions.
 • 1590 Dutch spectacle-maker
Zacharias Janssen invented a
primitive microscope with the help of
h father, Hans. This microscope
would later be used by Marcello
Malpighi and Robert Hooke
• Zacharias Jansen, a Dutch spectacle
maker, invented the first compound
microscope around 1590. Hans Jansen,
Zacharias’s father, was believed to
have assisted in the creation of this
Zacharias young scientist’s invention. The first
Janssen microscope consisted of three draw
1590 tubes with lenses inside the ends.
 • This microscope was complex for its
time. The design consisted of a bi-
convex eyepiece lens and a plano-
convex objective lens. Magnifying
images was achieved by sliding the
draw tube in or out while focusing on
the sample. When the tubes were
extended to the maximum length, the
microscope was able to magnify a
sample up to 10 times the original size.
The invention of this scientific
instrument allowed Robert Hooke and
Zacharias Anton van Leeuwenhoek, notable
Janssen scientists of the late 17th century, to
1590 observe diatoms, fossils and the first
cells. The invention of the compound
microscope laid the foundation for the
advancement in microscopy.
 • 1663-1665 Using Janssen's type of
microscope, Robert Hooke viewed a
thin slice of cork where he found
hollow, small structures which
reminded him of cellulae used by
monks. He called these structures,
"cells,"

Robert Hooke
1663-1665
 Marcello
Malpighi Nehemiah
1665-1676 Grew
1665-1676

• 1665-1676 Italian scientist Marcello Malpighi and English

botanist Nehemiah Grew conducted separated investigations on
plant cells. They determined the presence of the organelles
within its cells.
 • 1670-1683 Anton van
Leeuwenhoek upgraded
Janssen's microscope and
produced his own lens. Some of
his lenses could magnify objects
up to 270x diameters. With this
invention, he discovered mobile
organelles in many subjects,
which he called "animalcules."
Anton van
Leeuwenhoek
1670-1683
 • 1831 Previous discoveries mostly dealt
with cells in general. Then, Scottish
botanist Robert Brown made a series of
discoveries about cell organelles and
ultimately discovered the nucleus. This
became a major breakthrough in the
history of biology.
• Robert Brown (born December 21,
1773, Montrose, Angus, Scotland—
died June 10, 1858, London, England)
was a Scottish botanist best known for his
descriptions of cell nuclei and of the
continuous motion of minute particles in
solution, which came to be called
Brownian motion. In addition, he
Robert Brown recognized the fundamental distinction
1831 between gymnosperms (conifers and their
allies) and angiosperms (flowering plants),
and he improved plant taxonomy by
establishing and defining new families and
genera. He contributed substantially to the
 • 1838 Matthias Schleiden
microscopically examined plants
and recognized that plant parts
come from cells. In his writings in
Contributions to Phytogenesis, he
proposed that the different
structures of a plant are all
Matthias Schleiden composed of cells.
1838
 • 1839 Prompted by his
discussions with Schleiden,
Theodor Schwann declared
that animals are likewise
composed of cells. This put an
end to the debates-whether or
not plants and animals are
Theodor Schwann different in structural origin and
1839 composition.
 • 1840 With the aid of more
powerful microscopes, Swiss
embryologist Albrecht von
Roelliker stated that sperm and
egg are composed of cells and
that all humans are configured
from cells. This initiated the idea
that most life forms are made up
of cells and gave the scientific
community a flourishing
Albrecht von Roelliker understanding of biology.
1840
 l
• Roelliker’s investigations covered
such diverse subjects as the
development of cephalopods (e.g.,
octopus, squid), the structure of
smooth muscle, the development and
differentiation of red blood cells, and
the significance of the germ layers in
development. He described
spermatozoa as cellular in origin and
nature and emphasized the
significance of sudden change in
evolution as opposed to gradual
Albrecht von Roelliker change. Among his important works
1840 were Handbuch der Gewebelehre des
Menschen (1852; “Handbook of
Human Histology”) and
Entwicklungsgeschichte des
 • 1849 While French microbiologist
Louis Pasteur was developing
fermentation, a process to kill
bacteria, he proved that bacteria are
able to multiply and that bacteria's
cells come from other bacterial cells.

Louis Pasteur
1849
 • Basing on the data of the previous
studies and his own observations on
cells, Rudolf Virchow declared,
"Omnis cellula e cellula," which
meant that cells come from
preexisting cells. With this conclusion,
the cell theory was completed.
Rudolf Virchow
1858
Microscopy:
Foundation of Cell
Theory
Microscopy started in the 14th century in
Italy, where the process of grinding lenses
was established to manufacture spectacles
that enhanced one's eyesight. The team of
Hans and Zacharias Janssen assembled an
apparatus by placing two lenses in one tube.
Development of Cell
Theory
This instrument became the precursor of both
the telescope and the microscope. The
microscope was further developed by Anton van
Leeuwenhoek who created the first compound
microscope to observe varied specimens and
know more about cells. Great advancement
came with the invention of the transmission
electron microscope (TEM) by Ernst Ruska and
Max Knoll in 1931. Unlike the previous
microscopes, this relied on electrons and no on
light.
Development of Cell
Theory
A year later, Fritz Zernike developed the phase
contras microscope (PCM) that enabled the
imaging of transparent specimens In 1942,
Ruska designed the first scanning electron
microscope (SEM which transmitted a beam of
electron across the specimen's surface. All these
developments in microscopy have contributed to
th foundation of the cell theory. Today, scientists
continue to discove wonders in the field of
microscopy, not only in the field of biology but i
other scientific domains as well.
Summary of Key
Concepts
1. The cell theory has laid the foundation for the
discoveries about the cell. It has three
postulates: the cell is the basic unit of life; all
living organisms are composed of cells; and new
cells are created from preexisting cells. t
bacterial cells come from other bacterial cells.
Summary of Key
Concepts
2. Upon Robert Hooke's and Anton van
Leeuwenhoek's discoveries of the cell and the
cell's nature, it was proposed that the cell is the
basic unit of life. Matthias Schleiden first stated
that all plants are made up of cells. A year after,
Theodor Schwann asserted the idea that animals
are also composed of cells. Then, depending on
the studies of the scientists before him, Rudolf
Virchow contradicted the theory of spontaneous
generation and established that cells arise from
preexisting cells.
Summary of Key
Concepts
3. Aside from Hooke, Leeuwenhoek, Schleiden,
Schwann, and Virchow, many other scientists
worked on the development of the cell theory,
including Zacharias Janssen, who, together with
his father, built the first microscope; Marcello
Malpighi and Nehemiah Grew, who both asserted
the presence of organelles in a cell; Robert
Brown, who discovered the nucleus; Albrecht
von Roelliker, who stated that all humans are
configured from cells; and Louis Pasteur, who
proved that bacterial cells come from other
bacterial cells.
Summary of Key
Concepts
4. Great advancement in microscopy came with
the invention of Ruska and Knoll's transmission
electron microscope (TEM) in 1931, phase
contrast microscope in 1932, and Ruska's
scanning electron microscope in 1942. All these
developments contributed to the foundation of
the cell theory.
 The
Light
Microsco
Cell sizes can vary from

pe
about 0.001 mm to 0.1 mm
long.

To see cells up close, we use

a light microscope. It
provides a magnified image
of small structures and
samples.
 Parts of a
Light
Microscope
Try to label all the main parts
of a light microscope.

coarse adjustment objective lenses

wheel
eyepiece aperture fine adjustment
wheel
mirror/light stage rotating nose
source
 eyepiece
Answer Key
rotating coarse

Parts of
nose adjustment
wheel
objective

a Light
lenses
fine

Microsc
adjustmen
t wheel
stage

ope
To use the microscope
well, you must be familiar
aperture

with its main parts. mirror/

light
source
How to Step 1:
Use a Turn the light microscope on,

Microsco
If you have never used a
move the mirror to reflect the
light up towards the eyepiece

pe
light microscope before,
this handy guide will
and check that the aperture is
wide open.
explain how it’s done!

Step 2:

Turn the revolving nosepiece

so the lowest objective lens is
pointing directly down.
How to
Use a Step 3:

Microsco
If you have never used a
Place your specimen
onto the stage.

pe
light microscope before,
this handy guide will
explain how it’s done!

Step 4:

Look into the eyepiece and

slowly rotate the coarse
adjustment wheel to bring your
specimen into focus.
How to Step 5:
Use a Slowly rotate the fine
Microsco
If you have never used a
adjustment wheel until you
obtain a clearer image of your
pe
light microscope before,
this handy guide will
specimen.

explain how it’s done!

Step 6:

Examine and explore your

specimen, holding still or
moving the slide slowly with
your thumbs.
How to Use a What are the
Microscope
If you have never used a light microscope before,
things you
would like to
this handy guide will explain how it’s done!
observe under
a microscope?

Step 7:

Once you have seen enough,

switch to the medium and the
high-power objective lens. Use
the fine adjustment wheel to
bring the specimen into focus
as necessary.
Tracing the
Path of Light
Look at the diagram of a microscope
shown here. Using your finger, track the
path of the rays of light from the source
to the eyes of the observer.

In line with your answer above,

why is it necessary for
specimens to be very thin?
Answer Key

Tracing the
Path of Light
Light rays go through the aperture, to the
specimen, to the objective lens, then to the
eyepiece and into the eye.

But remember, light rays bend as they pass

through the lenses, allowing the image to be
magnified.

The main idea of a light microscope is for the

light rays to go through the specimen! So,
specimens must be thin enough for the light to
pass through.
 Summary
How does a
microscope
work?
A microscope magnifies
the structure of the
specimen.

Specimens must be
What are cells? brought into focus to be
viewed. This is done by
A cell is the smallest unit of a living moving the coarse and
thing. An organism may be made of fine adjustment wheels.
one cell or many cells.
 Assignment: Preparing the
Specimen
How do you prepare
mounts of both cheek
cells
and onion epidermis?
Use the internet or resources in
your library to find the answer to
this question. Then, get ready to
collect and prepare the specimen
the following day.