Cytology is a branch of biosciences that studies the cell. It focuses on the function, chemistry, and structure of the cell. Because of the microscope, it allows scientists to see on a microscopic scale. Now we know what cells are made of, as well as many of the functions of cells, though new progress is made every day involving cells.

Robert Hooke, who discovered the cell, is considered the father of cytology. He discovered the cell in the mid to late 17th century, and did so with the help of the microscope, created a mere 40 years before his birth. He would go on to make many drawings of the cells, though he could not get a clear picture of the nucleus.

The cell theory says everything living is made up of cells. This includes animals, plants, insects, fish, and everything in-between. Animal cells were discovered by Theodor Schwann and plant cells by Matthias Schleden in 1839. Around 1848, Rudolf Virchow made an argument that cells must have been born from the division of another cell. These scientists pushed the boundary, and still have many scientists questioning cell theory today.

While cells are easy to understand, scientists still struggle with the many complexities of the cell. One of the issues that scientists cannot agree on is if viruses are alive. A virus can only exist by infecting healthy cells, but it spreads and multiplies to such an extent that it's hard not to see it as living. They are also much, much smaller than bacteria, which is considered living. A virus is .005 to .03 microns, where bacteria can be 1-5 microns.

In the cell world, there are two types of cells. Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes. They can be told apart from organelles either existing or not existing in the cell. Many other attributes are factored in, such as the size, reproduction, and how many cells are there.

Modern day cytology has come a far way, and its start goes back hundreds of years. Because of this, there are many different variations of cytology now, such as cytogenetics, which combines cytology and genetics, or Cytochemistry, which combines both cytology and chemistry. Because of this, scientists can use their various specialties with cytology.

Cytology now tries to research ways to manipulate cells outside of a body. This provides further insight to anatomy and physiology of humans. With this information, we can create new medicine, techniques, and treatments for the common person. One of the main things scientists are constantly in the search of are ways to reduce cancer cells, which kills millions of people every year.

Cytology helps almost every aspect of science, as well as helps us learn more about living things. Because we know about cells, scientists can extract cells from something and learn many vast wonderful things about the cell. As we learn more and more about cells, we will produce many new miracle medicines, as well as further the human race's lifespan.

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