Miraculum naturae

Lugduni Batavorum : Apud Joh. du Vivie, 1717.

"Dutch naturalist, considered the most accurate of classical microscopists, who was the first to observe and describe red blood cells (1658). He corrected Malpighi's conceptions of the insect brain and nervous system and opposed Harvey's inconsistent interpretation of insect metamorphosis. He also demonstrated the presence of butterfly wings in caterpillars about to undergo pupation. Studying the anatomy of the tadpole and the adult frog, he noted a cleavage in the egg and discovered valves in the lymphatic vessels, now known as Swammerdam valves. He described the ovarian follicles of mammals in the same year as de Graaf and devised improved techniques for injecting wax and dyes into cadavers, which had important consequences for the study of human anatomy. His ingenious experiments showed that muscles alter in shape but not in size during contraction, contradicting Galen's popular theory. Subject in the last years of his life to fits of depression, he sought relief by becoming a disciple of the religious enthusiast Antoinette Bourignon" (Britannica).

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