Discovery and description of the centrosome
Descubrimiento y descripción del centrosoma
- Date
- 1876-1888 · confidence medium
- Place
- Munich, Germany
- Credited to
- Édouard Van Beneden (observation, 1876); Theodor Boveri (description and name, 1888)
- Field
- Life & health
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What was discovered
Van Beneden first observes a cell structure next to the nucleus involved in cell division; Boveri describes it in detail and names it the centrosome in 1888.
Walther Flemming had already observed a similar structure in 1875; the credit split between Flemming, Van Beneden and Boveri is not unanimous across sources.
What it led to
- Modern understanding of the mitotic spindle and cell division
- Boveri's studies on the role of chromosomes in cancer
- Cell biology of the microtubule-organising centre