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Sammerdam was amongst the first to use the newly invented Microscope , and is said to have had an important role in the emergence of Biology (Cobb, 2002). Swammerdam was born in Amsterdam , the son of an Apothecary and Naturalist . He was destined for the Church , but he preferred the profession of Medicine , taking his Doctor's Degree at Leiden in 1667 . Having necessarily to interest himself in Human Anatomy , he devoted much attention to the preservation and better demonstration of the various structures, and he devised the method of studying the Circulatory System by means of Injection s. He also spent much time in the study of Insect s, investigating the subject of their Metamorphosis , and in this and other ways laying the beginnings of their natural Classification . His research on the Anatomy of Mayflies and Bee s was also of great importance. His '' Algemeene Verhandeling Van Bloedeloose Diertjens '' ( 1669 ) was published as '' The Natural History Of Insects '' in English Translation in 1792 . This was the first important work on Entomology , and described and classified hundreds of insects, Arachnid s and Worm s. His '' Biblia Naturae, Sive Historia Insectorum In Certas Classes Redacta '' was published after his death by Herman Boerhaave in 1737 - 1738 . He was also the author of '' Miraculum Naturae, Sive Uteri Muliebris Fabrica .'' Swammerdam also played a major role in debunking the Balloonist Theory , which held that muscles contract because air or fluid flows into them. The first to work with Nerve-muscle Preparation s, Swammerdam caused a frog leg under water to contract, showing that the water level did not rise and thus no air or fluid could be flowing into the leg. His use of and experiments with frog muscle preparations played a key role in the development of our current understanding of Nerve - Muscle function (Cobb, 2002). Swammerdam's devotion to science led to his neglect of practice; his father, resenting this, stopped all supplies. Thus Swammerdam experienced a period of considerable privation, which had the most unfortunate consequences to his health, both bodily and mental. In 1675 his father died, leaving him an adequate fortune, but the mischief was irreparable. He became a Hypochondriac and Mystic , joined the followers of Antoinette Bourignon , and died at Amsterdam. AS Byatt 's novel '' Possession : A romance'' contains a poem by the fictional poet, Randolph Henry Ash, entitled ''Swammerdam'' after the Dutch scientist. See also
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