Ten fun facts about Theodor Schwann

Fact 1
Schwann has often been credited as the founder of modern histology.

Fact 2
He has had Schwann cells named after him, which he discovered while researching the nervous and muscular tissues.

Fact 3
In 1834 he graduated, after studying medicine, from the universities of Bonn, Wurzburg and Berlin.

Fact 4
His conclusion that all living things were made up of cells was the basis of the 'cell theory'.

Fact 5
In 1838 he became the Professor of Anatomy at the University of Leuven, Belgium.

Fact 6
He is also responsible for discovering pepsin, a substance responsible for digestion in the stomach.

Fact 7
Another observation he made involved the formation of yeast using sugar and starch.

Fact 8
It is his research and findings that was the reason he coined the term 'metabolism' for chemical changes in living tissue.

Fact 9
Schwann also influenced the germ theory and the use of antiseptic by Lister.

Fact 10
Though he worked for a long time with plants, he switched to animals and published his piece "Microscopical Researches into the Accordance in the Structure and Growth of Animals and Plants".

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