Little is known regarding the form of microscope employed by Malpighi. Doubtless, much of his work was done with a simple lens, since he speaks of examining the dried lungs with a microscope of a single lens against the horizontal sun; but he is also known to have observed with an instrument consisting of two lenses.
Malpighi was a naturalist, but of a new type; he began to look below the surface, and essayed a deeper level of analysis in observing and describing the internal and minute structure of animals and plants, and when he took the further step of investigating their development he was anticipating the work of the nineteenth century.
Jan Swammerdam (1637-1680)
Swammerdam was a different type of man—nervous, incisive, very intense, stubborn, and self-willed. Much of his character shows in the portrait by Rembrandt represented in Fig. 15. Although its authenticity has been questioned, it is the only known portrait of Swammerdam.
Early Interest in Natural History.—He was born in 1637, nine years after Malpighi. His father, an apothecary of Amsterdam, had a taste for collecting, which was shared by many of his fellow-townsmen. The Dutch people of this time sent their ships into all parts of the world, and this vast commerce, together with their extensive colonial possessions, fostered the formation of private museums. The elder Swammerdam had the finest and most celebrated collection in all Amsterdam. This was stored, not only with treasures, showing the civilization of remote countries, but also with specimens of natural history, for which he had a decided liking. Thus "from the earliest dawn of his understanding the young Swammerdam was surrounded by zoölogical specimens, and from the joint influence, doubtless, of hereditary taste and early association, he became passionately devoted to the study of natural history."
Studies Medicine.—His father intended him for the church, but he had no taste for theology, though he became a fanatic in religious matters toward the close of his life; at this period, however, he could brook no restraint in word or action. He consented to study medicine, but for some reason he was twenty-six years old before entering the University of Leyden. This delay was very likely owing to his precarious health, but, in the mean time, he had not been idle; he had devoted himself to observation and study with great ardor, and had already become an expert in minute dissection. When he went to the University of Leyden, therefore, he at once took high rank in anatomy. Anything demanding fine manipulation and dexterity was directly in his line. He continued his studies in Paris, and about 1667 took his degree of Doctor of Medicine.
Fig. 15.—Swammerdam, 1637-1680.