History of Glial Cells

Glial cells were discovered before Rudolf Virchow introduced the neuroglia concept. In his PhD thesis Robert Remak described in 1838, nerve fibers in the peripheral nervous system and their ensheathment. This ensheathment were the Schwann cells.

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A: Aus der hinteren Wurzel des Nervus alicujus lumbalis (200-fache Vergrößerung). a, organische Faser; b, c, primitive Röhren. d, die primitive Faser scheint nicht umhüllt zu sein.

B: Primitive Fasern aus dem Kaninchen Cerebellum (110-fache Vergrößerung); man kann die zarte Schicht und die transparenten Fasern erkennen.

From Remak, 1838

Robert Remak (1815 – 1865)

The German physiologist Theodor Schwann confirmed Remak’s discovery and gave his name to the cells, the Schwann cells.

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Theodor Schwann (1810 – 1882)

History of Glial Cells

Rudolf Virchow coined the name “glia” in his 1856 published comment. Really popular became this term after he published his famous book “Cellular Pathology”.

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Rudolf Virchow (1821 - 1902) A: Zahlreiche Bindegewebszellen und Zellkerne; E, Epithel; N, Nervenbahnen; V, Blutgefäße

B: Neuroglia-Elemente der weißen Substanz aus dem menschlichen Kortex; a, ein freier Zellkern mit Nucleolus; b, Zellkerne mit z.T. zerstörten Zellkörpern, c, vollständige Zellen

From Virchow (1858)

History of Glial Cells

In 1851, Heinrich Müller described the Müller cells and published pictures of this radial glia. Müller cells are glial cells in the retina.

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Heinrich Müller (1820 - 1864) A: Querschnitt durch die Frosch-Retina vom Frsoch; a, Pigment-Zellen; b, Stäbchen; c, Zapfen; e, Verdickung der Radialglia; f, mit ihrem konischen Ende am Rand

B: Isolierte Radialglia aus dem Frosch

From Müller (1856)

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History of Glial Cells

The first image of star shaped glial cells – later termed “astrocytes” - were published by the young Otto Deiters. Some years later Jacob Henle and Friedrich Merkel showed pictures of glial networks in the gray matter.

Friedrich Merkel (1845 - 1919)

History of Glial Cells

Camillo Golgi was probably the first who recognized oligodendrocytes as cells. They were not yet recognized as defined population.

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Camillo Golgi (1843 - 1926)

History of Glial Cells

Michael Lenhossek coined the term “astrocytes” for these star shaped cells.

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Michael von Lenhossek (1863 - 1937)

A: Stützzellen (Astrozyten) aus dem Rückenmark eines ¾ jährigen Kindes, mit der Golgi’schen Methode dargestellt.

History of Glial Cells

Pio del Rio Hortega (1882 - 1945)

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A: Astrozyten

B: Oligodendrozyten

C: Mikrogliazellen

From: del Rio Hortega , 1932

The distinction between the three glial cell types was introduced by Pio del Rio Hortega in 1919. In a series of publications, he distinguished microglial cells and oligodendrocytes from the astrocytes and since that time we know the three main types of the central nervous system glial cells.

History of Glial Cells

Alois Alzheimer described the role of glial cells in CNS diseases. He recognized that activated glial cells surround the plaques which appear in the disease which is named after him.

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Beiträge zur Kenntnis der pathologischen Neuroglia und ihrer Beziehung zu den Abbauvorgängen im Nervengewebe, Alzheimer, A. In: Histologische und Histopathologische Arbeiten über die Grosshirnrinde (F. Nissl and A. Alzheimer, eds.) (1910)

Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915)

History of Glial Cells