Theodor Schwann

Theodor Schwann (1810–1882) was a German physiologist who helped establish cell theory and identified the cells surrounding peripheral nerve fibers, now called Schwann cells.

Matthias Jakob Schleiden: A German botanist who proposed that plants are composed of cells. Schleiden’s account of plant cells helped Schwann formulate a general theory for animals and plants.
Cell theory: The theory that cells are the basic structural and functional units of living organisms. Schwann helped extend this framework from plants to animals.
Microscopy: The use of instruments to observe objects too small to see clearly with the unaided eye. Microscopes made Schwann’s comparative study of animal tissues possible.
Cell doctrine: The nineteenth-century doctrine that cells are the elementary units of organisms and their functions. Schwann’s synthesis helped make cellular explanation central to physiology and anatomy.
Rudolf Virchow: A German physician who advanced the principle that cells arise from preexisting cells. Virchow later revised cell theory with a principle Schwann had not established.
Schwann cell: A glial cell that ensheathes peripheral nerve fibers and can form their myelin sheath. These cells bear Schwann’s name and are his most enduring anatomical discovery.
Histology: The study of the microscopic structure of tissues. Schwann’s research helped turn tissue microscopy into a systematic biological discipline.
Neuroregeneration: The regrowth or repair of nervous-system structures after injury. Schwann cells support repair of damaged peripheral nerve fibers.
Johannes Peter Müller: A German physiologist whose research and teaching shaped nineteenth-century biology and medicine. Müller was Schwann’s mentor and supported his early physiological research.
Myelin: A lipid-rich insulating layer around many nerve fibers that speeds electrical signal conduction. Schwann cells produce myelin around peripheral nerves.

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