The History of Microbiology

The History of Microbiology

Introduction

Microbiology is the study of living microorganisms . The term micro means extremely small , and with regards to biology , this refers to minute living things that are individually too small to be seen without the aid of a microscope . These invisible microorganisms include bacteria , virus , fungi , protozoan and other microscopic organisms . The study of microorganisms is very important because it helps explains why people get sick and who or what is responsible for it . Prior to the development of microbiology , thousands (and sometimes millions ) of people

die in devastating epidemics as medical doctors stand helplessly at the side , fully ignorant of the reasons or causes of the disease Most people believed that these diseases were sent as a punishment for sin . Moreover , people of the past were unable to control food spoilage Fortunately , the discovery of microbiology provided answers to the problem of epidemics and diseases and gives rise to the discovery of medicines for treatment . Unlike before , entire families need not die because vaccinations and antibiotics are now available for protection against infection (Tortora et al , 1992 , 5-6

This will discuss the history of microbiology . And since microbiology is a scientific discovery , this will also discuss the persons who made relevant contributions to this field

The Beginnings of Microbiology

A . The invention of the microscope Since the science of microbiology involved microorganisms that are very small and cannot be seen by the naked eye , it is understood that microbiology developed only after the invention of microscope . Hans and Zacharias Janssen invented the first compound microscope in 1590 (Cann 1998 . However , it was only in 1665 that with the aid of a revised compound microscope , the first significant discovery relating to microbiology occurred . Robert Hooke an Englishman , mounted a plant leaf in his revised microscope and consequently discovered life 's structural units that he called little boxes ' or cells . This discovery led to the development of cell theory , the concept that all living things are composed of cells (Tortora et al , 1992 , 6 ) Unfortunately , Hooke was not able to detect bacteria or viruses under his lenses

Anton Van Leeuwenhoek , The Father of Microbiology

What Hooke misses , Anton Van Leeuwenhoek (Dutch merchant ) discovered Under his single-lens 300X magnification microscope , the world saw for the first time in the 1670 the microorganisms (he refereed to them then as animalcules ) that ever since time began , co-exist with man . This animalcules ' are now presently called bacteria and protozoan Leeuwenhoek 's invisible ' microorganisms were taken from rainwater liquid in which peppercorn had soaked and teeth scrapings (Tortora et al , 1992 , 6 Cann 1998

Golden Age of Microbiology ( 1857-1914

A . Louis Pasteur (French scientist

By the mid-1880 , spontaneous generation , establishes itself as a popular scientific belief . Spontaneous generation proposed that life could arise spontaneously from nonliving matter (Tortora et al , 1992 , 6 . In other words , there were people back then who advocated the idea that some living things originated from nonliving things . For example , they believed that dead bodies can...