Is The Difference Between The Reticular Theory And Gerlach's Cell Theory

In the early half of the 1800s, T. Schwann and M.J. Schleiden introduced the cell theory; the theory that individual cells make up all tissues.1 However, due to the lack of staining techniques at the time, not much was known about nervous tissue and many scientists wondered if it even conformed to the same rules followed by all the other cells in the body. Two major theories were proposed regarding the nervous system: the reticular theory by Josef van Gerlach, and the neuron doctrine theory.1 Eventually, in 1873, an Italian scientist named Camillo Golgi discovered a staining technique that allowed the neurons and the fibers to be seen and later on, the Spanish scientist Ramon y Cajal further refined the technique. These two scientists made many contributions and eventually went on to share the Nobel Peace Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1906.1 A German scientist named Josef van Gerlach in 1871 introduced, the first, and leading, theory at the time, the reticular theory.1 The main principle of this theory is that the entire nervous system is a single cell. Camillo Golgi, a strong supporter, believed that the axons were anastomoses, or that the fibers were fused together with a tube.1,2 Golgi also theorized that the that the nerve impulses were able to travel in any direction.2 The supporters of the neuron
The fact that each neuron is its own individual cell helps to back up the Law of Dynamic Polarization. At the time, Ramon y Cajal and other supporters of the neuron theory suggested that conductions were made through the neuron from the dendrites to the axon, but did not know the cause of these impulses. If the nervous system were one single cell, then it would be very difficult for ions to diffuse throughout the body. Finally, with the introduction of new technology and more powerful microscopes, the reticular theory could finally be