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| A young tutor at the time, the Swiss Abraham Trembley
(1710-1784) wrote in November 25, 1740:
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"The first operation I performed on the polyps
was to cut them transversely.... I place it with a little water in the hollow
of my left hand....When I have it as I want it, I delicately pass one blade
of the scissors, which I hold in my right hand, under the part of the polyp's
body where it is to be severed. Then I close the scissors." (translated
by Lenhoff and Lenhoff)
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| Such amputations resulted in two fragments that
were each capable of regenerating an entire polyp on their own. Thus began
the experimental study of regeneration in the metazoans. Because of their
morphology, and their ability to regenerate, the polyps reminded Trembley
of the mythical Hydra, and adopted this Greek name to refer to them. This
name endures to this day and so does the study of regeneration in Hydra
(cnidarians).
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An English translation of Trembley's work can be
found in Sylvia and Howard Lenhoff's "Hydra and the Birth of Experimental
Biology-1744." This book can be ordered through
Amazon.com.An index of this translation has been
recently released by Sylvia and Howard Lenhoff.
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Below is a 19th century illustration of various
hydra taken from The
Wandtafeln of Rudolph Leuckart (1822-1898)
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