ABSTRACT
Histology is defined as “the science of organic tissue” although it is more commonly regarded as “that branch of biology or anatomy concerned with the minute structure of the tissues of plants or animals” (Shorter Oxford Dictionary, 1973). Although its origins have been ascribed to Aristotle, who distinguished between tissues and organs, histology as a modern science began with the invention of the compound microscope in about 1600 by Iansen and or Gallileo, and developed with the evolution of microscopy. Nevertheless, many important observations using a single magnifying lens continued to be reported until early in the 18th century, notably by van Leeuwenhoek (1791). Perhaps the first mention of tissue being composed of separate cells was by Robert Hooke (1665). For a detailed outline and chronology of the history of microscopy and histology see for instance (Kaiser, 1985).
