Microscopes have always been a crucial tool used for the advancement of health and medicine. They allow medics, scientists and researchers to describe the body at a microscopic level more consistently and with confidence in what they see through them.
Today microscopes are used in the observation of bacteria and microbes as well as in
the development of new chemicals and medicines used to combat disease.
RCSI Heritage Collections holds a large
collection of microscopes dating back to the early 19th century. Here, we take a ‘closer’ look at the history of the microscope, how they
came about, as well as their introduction to Irish medical science (there’s an
RCSI link!)
It was a Dutch father-son team named Hans and Zacharias Janssen who invented
the first so-called compound microscope in the late 16th century when they
discovered that, if they put a lens at the top and bottom of a tube and looked
through it, objects on the other end became magnified. However, as ingenious as the Janssen invention
was, it would be more than half a century before the instrument found
widespread use among scientists using the microscope to start making discoveries,
not just bigger pictures of things.
In the 1660s Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (also Dutch) began experimenting with the optics and lenses of microscopes and was able to observe new elements like animal and plant tissue, human sperm and blood cells, minerals, fossils, and many other things that had never been seen before on a microscopic scale. He presented his findings to the Royal Society in London, where Robert Hooke was also making remarkable discoveries with a microscope. In fact, Hooke was the first person to use the term ‘cell’ to describe what would later be recognised as the building blocks of all living organisms, plant and animal.
Ireland:
It would
be much later after this discovery that the microscope would make an appearance in the Irish medical world. Generally, in Ireland, microscopy had been an amusement or hobby rather than a
profession and for most it seemed to be an ’intellectual pastime’. However, by
the second half of the 19th century the popularity of the microscope
had increased, more of them were being manufactured, their price was no longer
prohibitive and Irish professionals as well as amateurs were increasingly using
them and experimenting with them. There were stained sections of plants to examine,
blood and other tissues to study, as well as the microscopic forms of life to
be explored when things like cell structures and classification were all very new
and exciting!
In terms
of microscopial activity in Dublin, there were two organisations- The
Microscopial Society of Dublin and the Dublin Microscopial Club. At meetings
members exhibited their specimens using the microscope, prepared illustrations
and talked about their preparations. One of the rules of the Society stated
that ‘All objects exhibited must be connected with original work or discovery
by the exhibitors’. Although few important scientific advances were made the
value of meeting as a microscopial group with similar interests, where technical
matters could be discussed, experiences shared, micro-slides exchanged and
equipment bought cannot be underestimated.
 |
| Dublin Microscopial Club (1865) RCSI/IP/DMC |
 |
| John Houston (1802-1845) |
‘Investigations of this nature have opened a new door in the science of pathology, and will lead, it is to be hoped, to an accurate knowledge both of the nature of malignant diseases, and of the diagnostic difference between them and affections of benign character. Most important remedial improvements may be expected to arise out of such a consummation’.
 |
| 'On the microscopic pathology of cancer', Dublin Medical Press Vol. xii 1844 |
 |
| Microscopic Pathology- Sketches by Houston RCSI/MS/100 |
We also have one of his microscopes that was recently transferred from the RCSI Pathology Department in Beaumont Hospital to 123 St Stephens Green Campus.
This microscope is known as a Culpeper Microscope. This type of microscope was developed between 1725 and 1730 and was widely produced and used. It has a tripod stand and also features a concave mirror at the base instead of a flat mirror. This allowed light to be reflected and concentrated directly on to the object being studied.
This form of microscope with its triangular-shaped frame was designed so that the tube was supported above the stage, which improved the experience of viewing specimens. The microscope was focused by moving the tube up and down.
Today the microscope has come a long way from its inception. Cutting edge advancements in microscopic technology has helped and advanced medical research in a powerful way. However, the essence of the microscope has still remained- to see or distinguish the fine detail which our eyes alone cannot perceive.
