Details
SCHWANN, Theodor (1810-1882). Mikroskopische Untersuchungen ber die Uebereinstimmung in der Struktur und dem Wachsthum der Thiere und Pflanzen. Berlin: Sander'schen Buchhandlung (G. E. Reimer), 1839.
8o (201 x 116 mm). 4 folding engraved plates by C. E. Weber after Schwann. (Plates foxed.) Contemporary half sheep, calf lettering-piece (upper joint starting, minor wear to extremities). Provenance: V. Marins[?] (19th-century signature on title).
FIRST EDITION of the first general theory of the cell as the basis of life. Schwann extended to the animal kingdom Schleiden's theory of the cell as the fundamental unit of plant life. In the first part of his book Schwann describes his microscopic research into the structure of the chorda dorsalis in frogs, which he found to consist of "polyhedral cells that have in or on the internal surface of their wall a structure corresponding to the nucleus of plant cells... He also found the structure of cartilage to be in accordance with the tissues of plants..." While retaining Schleiden's erroneous theory of cell growth, which postulated an amorphous primary liquid, or "blastema" within which cells emerge, Schwann developed his own more accurate theories of cell development based on more detailed and thorough observations than those of his colleague. Most important of these by far was his demonstration that the body's specialized tissues -- "epithelium, hoof, feather, crystalline lens, cartilage, bone, tooth, muscle tissue, fatty tissue, elastic tissue, nerve tissue--are products of cellular differentation. The conclusion he drew from this observation was that 'elementary parts,' although quite distinct in a physiological sense, may be developed according to the same laws" (DSB).
In the final part of his book Schwann presents a philosophical overview of his study of cells, in which he speculates, in direct opposition to the then prevalent theory of the "vital force," that "an organized body is not produced... by a fundamental power guided in its operation by a definite idea, but is developed, according to blind laws of necessity, by powers that, like those of inorganic matter, are established by the very existence of matter" (DSB). Schwann's theory can thus be regarded as the origin of the school of mechanistic materialism in biology. Although Schwann's theory of the formation of cells "was erroneous and was later corrected by Rudolf Virchow [see lot 1330]... he had succeeded in establishing that the cell was the universal unit of life throughout the animal and vegetable kingdoms, thus ending the search for a common structural principle of live organisms" (Grolier Medicine). Dibner Heralds of Science 197; Garrison-Morton 113; Grolier/Horblit 93a; Grolier Medicine 62; Heirs of Hippocrates 1754; PMM 307b; Waller 11002; Norman 1914.
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FIRST EDITION of the first general theory of the cell as the basis of life. Schwann extended to the animal kingdom Schleiden's theory of the cell as the fundamental unit of plant life. In the first part of his book Schwann describes his microscopic research into the structure of the chorda dorsalis in frogs, which he found to consist of "polyhedral cells that have in or on the internal surface of their wall a structure corresponding to the nucleus of plant cells... He also found the structure of cartilage to be in accordance with the tissues of plants..." While retaining Schleiden's erroneous theory of cell growth, which postulated an amorphous primary liquid, or "blastema" within which cells emerge, Schwann developed his own more accurate theories of cell development based on more detailed and thorough observations than those of his colleague. Most important of these by far was his demonstration that the body's specialized tissues -- "epithelium, hoof, feather, crystalline lens, cartilage, bone, tooth, muscle tissue, fatty tissue, elastic tissue, nerve tissue--are products of cellular differentation. The conclusion he drew from this observation was that 'elementary parts,' although quite distinct in a physiological sense, may be developed according to the same laws" (DSB).
In the final part of his book Schwann presents a philosophical overview of his study of cells, in which he speculates, in direct opposition to the then prevalent theory of the "vital force," that "an organized body is not produced... by a fundamental power guided in its operation by a definite idea, but is developed, according to blind laws of necessity, by powers that, like those of inorganic matter, are established by the very existence of matter" (DSB). Schwann's theory can thus be regarded as the origin of the school of mechanistic materialism in biology. Although Schwann's theory of the formation of cells "was erroneous and was later corrected by Rudolf Virchow [see lot 1330]... he had succeeded in establishing that the cell was the universal unit of life throughout the animal and vegetable kingdoms, thus ending the search for a common structural principle of live organisms" (Grolier Medicine). Dibner Heralds of Science 197; Garrison-Morton 113; Grolier/Horblit 93a; Grolier Medicine 62; Heirs of Hippocrates 1754; PMM 307b; Waller 11002; Norman 1914.