Cell theory
Robert HookeMatthias SchleidenTheodor SchwannRudolf Virchow
This page delivers no verdict; it presents claims and evidence with their sources. No theory in science is absolute. Method
For everyone
The view that all living things are made of cells and that every cell comes from another cell. Hooke saw "cells" in cork in 1665. Schleiden and Schwann argued in 1838–1839 that plants and animals are made of cells. Virchow added the principle "every cell from a cell" in 1855.
For specialists
Schwann's Mikroskopische Untersuchungen (1839) showed that animal tissues are also made of nucleated cells. The early view that cells arise by "free formation", like crystallisation, was abandoned after Remak's and Virchow's observations of cell division. Viruses are not cellular; whether they count as living is a debate about the limits of cell theory.
Claims
Evidence
Supporting
Nucleated cell structures were observed in all plant and animal tissues examined under the microscope.[1]
Challenging
—
Connections
Sources
- Book (1839). Mikroskopische Untersuchungen über die Uebereinstimmung in der Struktur und dem Wachsthum der Thiere und Pflanzen. Sander, Berlin
- Book (1858). Die Cellularpathologie in ihrer Begründung auf physiologische und pathologische Gewebelehre. Hirschwald, Berlin
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Cite this page
Athena contributors. (2026). Cell theory. Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/hucre-teorisi/
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title = {Cell theory},
author = {{Athena contributors}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/hucre-teorisi/}},
note = {Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Accessed: 2026-11-01}
}Added: September 27, 2026 · Last changed: September 27, 2026 · Page history