Cell Division 1855 – The Birth of Cellular Pathology

Based on his observations and theories, German physician Rudolf Virchow believed that, just as diseases could be studied by observing symptoms, all pathology was a study of cells. Rather than focusing on the whole body, he considered that particular cells or groups of cells could be diseased, helping establish the field of cellular pathology.

In 1855, he introduced the famous maxim "omnis cellula e cellula" , meaning that every cell arises from an existing cell. This proposition rejected the theory of spontaneous generation, which suggested that cells and organisms could emerge from mud, decomposing organic material, or hot water. 

Virchow's microscopic studies suggested that cells divide into two equal parts, that all living things consist of one or more cells, and that cells are the fundamental unit of life. The foundations of cell theory were thus laid. 

Other famous contributors to cell theory included German physiologist Theodor Schwann and German botanist Matthias Jakob Schleiden.

As well as describing cell division, Virchow became the first person to identify leukemia cells correctly in blood cancer. Despite these achievements, he rejected the ideas that bacteria could cause disease and that cleanliness was important in preventing infection. Also rejecting Pasteur's germ theory, Virchow believed that diseased tissues resulted from cells malfunctioning rather than invasion by a foreign microbe.

Science writer John G. Simmons: "With the cellular hypothesis, Virchow broadened the research horizons of biochemistry and physiology and made a major contribution to biology at large. Through the contribution of cell doctrine to molecular biology, the fundamental principles of evolution and reproduction will be understood much better."

Today, we know that cancer results from uncontrolled cell division and that, for a wound to heal, new skin cells are produced by existing skin cells.

Description of the Article Image: An illustration of cell division

Historical Figures Mentioned in This Article: Matthias Jakob Schleiden (1804–1881), Theodor Schwann (1810–1882), Rudolf Ludwig Karl Virchow (1821–1902)

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