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Jan Swammerdam (February 12, 1637 – February 17, 1680) was a Dutch biologist and microscopist. His work on insects demonstrated that the various phases during the life of an insect—egg, larva, pupa, and adult—are different forms of the same animal. As part of his anatomical research, he carried out experiments on muscle contraction. In 1658, he was the first to observe and describe red blood cells. He was one of the first people to use the microscope in dissections, and his techniques remained useful for hundreds of years. ==Biography== Swammerdam was baptized on 15 February 1637 in the Oude Kerk Amsterdam. His father was an apothecary, and an amateur collector of minerals, coins, fossils, and insects from around the world. His mother Baertje Jans Corvers died in 1661. The same year, when he was 24, Swammerdam entered the University of Leiden to study medicine. After qualifying as a candidate in medicine in 1663, he left for France, spending time in Issy, Saumur and Paris with Melchisédech Thévenot. He returned to Leiden in September 1665, and earned his M.D. on February 22, 1667. Once he left university, he spent much of his time pursuing his interest in insects. This choice caused a rift between Swammerdam and his father, who thought his son should practice medicine. The relationship between the two deteriorated; Swammerdam's father cut off his financial support for Swammerdam's entomological studies. As a result, Swammerdam was forced, at least occasionally, to practice medicine in order to finance his own research. He obtained leave at Amsterdam to dissect the bodies of those who died in the hospital. From 1667 through 1674, Swammerdam continued his research and published three books. In 1675, he came under the influence of the Flemish mystic, Antoinette Bourignon, renounced his work, and decided to devote the remainder of his life to spiritual matters. Niels Stensen, a gifted anatomist, and once his co-student, invited him to work for the Duke of Tuscany, but Swammerdam refused. The grand duke of Tuscany offered 12,000 florins for Swammerdam's collection, on condition of Swammerdam coming to Florence to continue it. There is evidence, however, that Swammerdam did not completely give up his scientific studies. The papers, which he wished to be published posthumously, appear to have been revised during the last two years of his life. Swammerdam died at age 43 of malaria and was buried in the ''Église Wallonne''. In 1737–1738, a half century after his death, Herman Boerhaave translated Swammerdam's papers into Latin and published them under the title ''Biblia naturae'' (''Book of Nature''). An English translation of his entomological works by T. Floyd was published in 1758. His entomological collection was divided at his death and sold in small portions.〔 As a naturalist of his time, he has been compared with Anton Leeuwenhoek.〔 No authentic portrait of Jan Swammerdam is extant nowadays. The portrait shown in the header is derived from the painting ''The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Tulp'' by Rembrandt and represents the leading Amsterdam physician Hartman Hartmanzoon (1591–1659). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jan Swammerdam」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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