Date of Award

5-1979

Degree Type

Master's Essay - Restricted

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biological Sciences

Abstract

The early Greek scientist-philosophers were very much interested in physiology and brain function. However, scientific investigation of the nervous system did not begin until the second century A.D. when Galen divided nerves into sensory and motor. It was also believed that nerves caused human thought and action as a result of fluid motion through a hydraulic nervous system. This idea persisted until the late 1700's when Galvani reported on the existence of animal electricity. Most researchers accepted the electrical basis for neural function by the middle of the nineteenth century. Shortly thereafter, new staining techniques by Golgi led to detailed morphological studies resulting in the discovery that the nervous system is made up of individual neurons.

Progress continued into the twentieth century as a result of instrumentation and improved technique. Two of these devices, the microelectrode and the electron microscope, contributed more to this investigation than any other instrument in recent history.

Comments

An Essay Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School, Marquette University, in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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