What is Cytology?
The Cytology word is broken down into two word that is “cyto” and logy. The word “cyto” which means cell is derived from the Greek word kytos meaning hollow vessel or container. Putting these two together we get cytology meaning the study of cells. Cytology can be defined as a branch of science that studies how cells work and grow and what they are made up of.
History of cytology
Robert Hooke was the first scientist to use the word “cell” in 1665 when he looked at slices of cork through a lit compound microscope. Anton Van Leeuwenhoek used a more powerful magnifying microscope to look more closely at specimens found in human body fluids in 1683. The classical cell theory was developed in 1838 by plant scientist Matthias Schleiden and animal scientist Theodor Schwann. In 1858, Rudolf Virchow added to the classical theory with the idea that cells only come from other cells.
What is the basic structure of a cell?
The cell membrane surrounds a cell. The cell contains a nucleus and organelles such as mitochondria and ribosome. The plant cell has a cell wall and a vacuole. It also has chloroplasts for photosynthesis.
Importance of cytology
As cells are the “basic unit of life” the study of cells can be considered one of the most crucial areas of biological research. Almost every day we hear about new discoveries in cell biology such as embryology, cloning, cancer research or any other research on any or the other disease. The discoveries in new structure and molecules in cells are on. The genetic engineering of cells to behave in a way that is beneficial to humans is the fastest growing area of scientific research today. This research will increase in coming years.
It is a fact that cytology focuses on the study of cells, it means that it is closely linked with all other branches of life science that is genetics, microbiology, biochemistry, anatomy, molecular biology and so on.
