Researched
Cellular Pathology (Virchow)
Rudolf Virchow's 1858 Cellular Pathology argued that disease is a disorder of cells, replacing the old doctrine of imbalanced body fluids and making the microscope central to diagnosis.
Open in the interactive tree →Virchow, head of the new pathology institute at the Charité in Berlin, published Die Cellularpathologie in 1858, built from his lectures. He told students to 'think microscopically' and popularised the maxim that every cell arises from another cell; he also named leukaemia (1847) and explained how blood clots travel to the lungs (embolism, 1859). Examining tissue under the microscope became the standard way to link a disease to damage in cells, which earned him the title father of microscopic pathology.
Prerequisites
- Microscope1665Diseased tissue is examined under the microscope instead of judged by symptoms alone.
- Cell Theory1838Disease is sought in the cell, the unit that cell theory had defined.
Unlocks
- Alzheimer's Disease Described1906Alzheimer defined the disease by plaques and tangles seen in stained brain tissue.
- Cancer Screening (Pap Test)1941-1943Cancer is recognised by looking at single cells under the microscope.
Sources
More in Medicine · Industrial Age
- Smallpox Inoculation1721
- Vaccination1796
- Stethoscope1816
- Anesthesia1846
- Epidemiology1854
- Sewers and Clean Water1858
- Germ Theory1861
- Hygiene and Antisepsis1867