CHAPTER IV 



THE INTRODUCTION OF THE .MICROSCOPE AND 

 THE PROGRESS OF INDEPENDENT OBSERVATION 



The introduction of the microscope greatly increased the 

 ocular powers of observers, and, in the seventeenth century, 

 led to many new departures. By its use the observations 

 were carried from the plane of gross anatomy to that of 

 minute structure; the anatomy of small forms of life, like in- 

 sects, began to be studied, and also the smaller microscopic 

 animalcula were for the first time made known. 



Putting aside the disputed questions as to the time of the 

 invention and the identity of the inventor of the microscope — 

 whether to Fontana, Galileo, or the Jenssens belongs the 

 credit — we know that it was improved by the Hollander 

 Drebbel in the early years of the seventeenth century, but 

 was not seriously applied to anatomical studies till after the 

 middle of that century. 



The Pioneer Microscopists 



The names especially associated with early microscopic 

 observations are those of Hooke and Grew in England, 

 Malpighi in Italy, and Swammerdam and Leeuwenhoek, 

 both in Holland. Their microscopes were imperfect, and 

 were of two kinds : simple lenses, and lenses in combination, 

 forming what we now know as the compound microscope. 

 Some forms of these early microscopes will be described and 

 illustrated later. Although thus early introduced, micro- 



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