AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Using single-lensed microscopes of his own design and make, van Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe and to experiment with microbes, which he originally referred to as dierkens, diertgens or diertjes (Dutch for “small animals” [translated into English as animalcules, from Latin animalculum = “tiny animal"]).

Detailed explanation-2: -Leeuwenhoek is universally acknowledged as the father of microbiology. He discovered both protists and bacteria [1]. More than being the first to see this unimagined world of ‘animalcules’, he was the first even to think of looking-certainly, the first with the power to see.

Detailed explanation-3: -Antonie van Leeuwenhoek-a cloth merchant by trade-is credited for the discovery of single-celled microorganisms, which he called “wee animalcules” (little animals) (Dobell, 1932).

Detailed explanation-4: -He was the first to see microscopic foraminifera, which he described as “little cockles. . . no bigger than a coarse sand-grain.” He discovered blood cells, and was the first to see living sperm cells of animals. He discovered microscopic animals such as nematodes and rotifers.

Detailed explanation-5: -Van Leeuwenhoek discovered “protozoa”-the single-celled organisms and he called them “animalcules". He also improved the microscope and laid foundation for microbiology. He is often cited as the first microbiologist to study muscle fibers, bacteria, spermatozoa and blood flow in capillaries.