Neuronists Vs Reticularists
Over the past couple of centuries our knowledge of the nervous system has increased rapidly. As there were developments in the technology and techniques that are used to study the nervous system. Previous to the discovery of the neuron there were many rival theories about the arrangement of the nervous system. The two leading scientific groups leading the research labelled themselves as ‘The Reticularists’ and ‘The Neuronists’. The Reticularists theory was that ‘the nervous system consisted of a large network of tissue, or reticulum, formed by the fused processes of nerve cells’. While the Neuronists believed that ‘the nervous system consisted of distinct elements, or cells’. However through the overtime development of their technology the
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This technique was called staining, and was when one would stain nervous tissue before examining to under a microscope. However, several years later in 1873, Camillo Golgi came out with a new, improved staining method. The staining technique, allows the frequently transparent microbial cytoplasm’s to be seen with the light of the microscope by staining them. Through this new method there were several new discoveries, surrounding the nervous system. Golgi however, even with this new method still held on to the belief that the nervous system consist of a continuous network. Though he was wrong about this theory, he still made a lot of important discoveries while he was using the staining method including the identification of projection neurons, interneurons, and tendon organs and discovered what is called now the ‘Golgi complex’. In 1887 Santiago Ramón y Cajal, a Spanish scientist, pioneered yet another improved method in the staining technique which allowed the image obtained to be even clearer. With is artistic skill he was able to make extremely accurate diagrams of the nervous tissue, however due to language barriers his, Spanish written, work was not well known. His finding counteracted Golgi’s as Cajal reported that there no found evidence in his research to support the theory that the nervous system consists of a continuous network. Instead he stated that the neuron was the anatomical and function of the nervous
This technique was called staining, and was when one would stain nervous tissue before examining to under a microscope. However, several years later in 1873, Camillo Golgi came out with a new, improved staining method. The staining technique, allows the frequently transparent microbial cytoplasm’s to be seen with the light of the microscope by staining them. Through this new method there were several new discoveries, surrounding the nervous system. Golgi however, even with this new method still held on to the belief that the nervous system consist of a continuous network. Though he was wrong about this theory, he still made a lot of important discoveries while he was using the staining method including the identification of projection neurons, interneurons, and tendon organs and discovered what is called now the ‘Golgi complex’. In 1887 Santiago Ramón y Cajal, a Spanish scientist, pioneered yet another improved method in the staining technique which allowed the image obtained to be even clearer. With is artistic skill he was able to make extremely accurate diagrams of the nervous tissue, however due to language barriers his, Spanish written, work was not well known. His finding counteracted Golgi’s as Cajal reported that there no found evidence in his research to support the theory that the nervous system consists of a continuous network. Instead he stated that the neuron was the anatomical and function of the nervous