The Germinal Cell, Histogenesis, and Lineages of Nerve Cells

Abstract

From its inception by Wilhelm His in 1887, the conncept of subclasses of germinal cells that are the progenitors of corresponding classes of neurons and glial cells has been opposed by the concept of multipotential progenitors, put forward by Vignal (1888), Schaper (1849a, b), and Koelliker (1897). Both concepts have continued to exert powerful heuristic effects for more than a century.

For all those who are enchanted by the magic of the infinitely small, hidden in the bosom of the living being are millions of palpitating cells whose only demand for the surrender of their secret, and with it the halo of fame, is a lucid and tenacious intelligence to contemplate them, to admire and to understand them.

The final sentence of Ramón y Cajal’s autobiography, Recuerdos de mi vida: Historia de mi labor cientifica, Tercera edición, 1923

A mind historically focussed will embody in its idea of what is “modern” and “contemporary” a far larger section of the past than a mind living in the myopia of the moment. “Contemporary civilization” in our sense, therefore, goes deep into the 19th century.

Johan Huizinga (1872–1945), Homo Ludens, 1938