Johannes Müller and the nineteenth-century origins of tumour cell theory

L. J. RATHER, PATRICIA RATHER and JOHN B. FRERICHS, Johannes Miller and the nineteenth-century origins oftumour cell theory, Canton MA, Science History Publications, 1986, 8vo, pp. ix, 193, illus., $15.00. No single scholar has done more to make classic texts ofGerman pathologists accessible to an English-language readership than L. J. Rather. Following the substantial volumes of Rudolf Virchow's Collected essays on public health and epidemiology (1985), he has compiled an excellent edition of papers relating to Johannes Muller's contribution to the origins oftumour cell theory. An extended essay on the parts taken by Muller, Schwann, Schleiden and Henle in elucidating the nature of plant and animal cells is followed by a translation ofMuller's seminal paper 'On the Finer Structure and the Forms of Morbid Tumours'. Particularly welcome is the republication of Schwann's three preliminary papers on cell theory in which he developed the theory that plant and animal cells show a unity of structure. While such a rarity would have merited parallel German and English texts (as with the Loeb classical editions), one must congratulate the translators for their accurate and readable rendering of the text. While no attempt is made to assess contemporary responses to these publications (abstracts of foreign papers in British medical publications also provide an excellent way to verify terminology), these two papers elucidate a central and neglected problem in the history of cell biology by specifying the exact nature of the contributions by Muller and such other leading researchers as Purkinje to the origins of cell theory. Given that Schleiden, Schwann, Henle and Virchow were all Muller's students, it is necessary to reconstruct the fruitful exchange of ideas among this brilliant group of budding biologists. Rather points out that Muller's interest in tumours led to recognition of cartilage corpuscles, which corresponded to Schwannian cells. Muller appreciated the analogy between plant and animal cells, which Schleiden's essay developed. What Muller referred to as 'cells' were empty containers. Despite further refinements, Schwann retained the view of the cell as a membrane containing a structureless ground substance. Rather is sensitive to nuances of terminology and to the prevailing cultural and medical contexts. It is important to recognize how such basic biological concepts as "the cell" arose from pathological investigations. Despite his excellent knowledge of primary sources, Rather cites neither general studies of the history of cell theory, nor some very relevant secondary literature. This would include Kisch's classic study of Remak (an important corrective to an over-emphasis of Virchow's role), and the general accounts of cell theory by Baker and Hughes. If he had done so, the originality of Rather's contributions to the history of cell theory would have become clearer. The judicious selection of the important texts by Muller and Schwann will ensure that this volume is of lasting value.