Address for Correspondence: Altan ARMUTAK • E-mail: armutak@istanbul.edu.tr
Received Date: 29 December 2019 • Accepted Date: 7 February 2020 • DOI: 10.5152/actavet.2020.19032 Available online at actavet.org
Abstract
Advances in histology and embryology in veterinary medici-ne in Turkey from the beginning through 2000 are evaluated under three topics: Education of students, scientific research and publishing, and training of scientists. Studies of histology and embryology accelerated after 1952, and these disciplines became established as separate departmental faculties. The first Ph.D. thesis in the area of histology was presented in 1944 and the first embryology dissertation was completed in 1954. Electron microscopy supplemented light microscopy in rese-arch beginning in 1969. Courses in histology and embryology
were included in veterinary medical curricula for the first time in 1985. Forty-eight Ph.D. theses in veterinary histology and embryology have been conducted in Turkey and numerous academic scientists including 25 assistant professors, 29 asso-ciate professors, and 14 professors have been trained. These scholars have published 445 scientific articles and 34 books.
Keywords: Developments in histology and embryology,
his-tory of histology and embryology in Turkey, hishis-tory of the mic-roscope, history of veterinary medicine, history of medicine
The History of Histology and Embryology in Veterinary
Medicine in Turkey
Altan ARMUTAK
Department of History of Veterinary Medicine and Deontology, İstanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, İstanbul, Turkey
Cite this article as: Armutak, A., 2020. The History of Histology and Embryology in Veterinary Medicine in Turkey. Acta Vet Eurasia 2020; 46: 37-44. ORCID ID of the author: A.A. 0000-0003-0643-7492.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Introduction
Antepartum and postpartum development of mammals evokes a sense of wonder and has done so since ancient times. Novel ancient findings, still being identified today, pro-vide epro-vidence of this fascination. Initially, the scientific basis for histology and embryology was based on gross observa-tion. The invention of the microscope, recognized as one of the pioneering innovations of the modern age, then allowed the disciplines to expand and flourish. The history of focusing lenses, which are the basis of a microscope, dates back much earlier than the discovery and use of the microscope (Wolf, 1950) permit visualization of structures that are otherwise in-visible to the naked eye. The ability to enlarge and focus on otherwise invisibly small objects is based on optical physics principles, and dates to times much earlier than the invention of the microscope (Wolf, 1950).
The creation of glass can be traced to 4000 BC. Glassmaking gradually spread from its homelands in Egypt and Syria to the rest of Asia and to Europe. Glass was used to enlarge and view objects in the Roman era, and Arabs developed a variety of magnifying glasses during the middle ages. After the Renais-sance, the western world took pioneering steps in the devel-opment of modern lenses, yet the genuine identity of the in-ventor/inventors of the microscope is still a matter of debate (Bernal, 1995).
A majority of historians claim that Zacharias Jansen, a specta-cle maker working at the end of the 16th century or the early years of the 17th century in the Netherlands, was likely to have serendipitously invented the first microscope by using multi-ple magnifying glasses. At that time, single convex lenses were used to magnifying small objects. Jansen discovered the prin-ciples of the modern microscope and the telescope by placing both convex and concave lenses in the same tube. This concept
This is a corrected version. The author list was modifed.
spread quickly from the Netherlands to the whole of Europe and sustained the continuous development of the microscope (Dobell, 1960; Purtle, 1974; Wolf, 1950).
The term “microscope”, derived from two ancient Greek words, “micros” (extremely small) and “skopos” (watcher), was first used by Giovanni Fabri, a physicist, naturalist, and member of the Lincei Academy, in a letter dated April 13, 1625. The mi-croscope was initially utilized merely for amusement or out of curiosity before finding its way into scientific research. Several Dutch and Italian scientists showed interest in the instrument and started to investigate numerous organ and tissue samples. The British botanist, Robert Hooke, was the first to use the term “Cellula”, meaning “The Cell” in his classical work
“Micrograph-ia”, published in 1665 (Dunlop-Williams, 1996; Mettler, 1947).
The cell was scientifically defined for the first time in the 17th century, but little progress was made in cell biology until the 19th century, except for defining the concept of “tissue” and the adoption of the once-novel term “histology” at the end of the 18th century.
Subsequently, the microscope was used in embryological stud-ies. In parallel with advances in optical and mechanical prop-erties of the microscopes in the 19th century, cell theory was established as a result of accelerating research on tissues and their components. Ongoing improvements in the light micro-scope were critical for defining the principle elements of cell theory, and contributed to the establishment and develop-ment of new scientific divisions, including “Histology and Em-bryology” (Reid, 1970; Wolf, 1950).
Imaging of very small objects by electron microscopy was first developed in the first half of the 20th century. The first electron microscope was invented by Ernst Ruska in 1933 and the instru-ment has been utilized in various scientific fields, with histol-ogy and embryolhistol-ogy being prime examples. Advances in his-tology and embryology directly affected the scope of medical and veterinary medical education and helped identify topics for further research (Bradbury-Turner, 1967; Erbengi, 1988). The first scientifically-based veterinary medical faculty was es-tablished in Lyon-France in 1762, and veterinary medical edu-cation was established by the end of the 18th century in almost all of Europe. In Turkey, the first veterinary medical faculty was founded in 1842 in Istanbul. Little substantive information is available in the literature regarding the development of his-tology and embryology within veterinary medicine in Turkey. No inclusive study was identified that included details on vet-erinary medical education, published work, and postgraduate training (Dinçer, 1999; Erk, 1978; Erk and Dinçer, 1970).
The objective of the study was to describe the evolution of histology and embryology by chronologically summarizing in-ternational developments in these scientific fields and to use this chronology to comparatively interpret the progression of these disciplines in Turkey within a historical framework. In
par-allel, this study sought to describe advances made by Turkish scientists. Furthermore, the study was also conducted to set a methodological example for similar future studies concerning different disciplines of veterinary medical science.
Materials and Methods
Study material consisted of domestic and foreign scientific work, archives from faculties of veterinary medicine, and in-formation and documents from academic fellows both on-du-ty and retired through face-to-face meetings and written or verbal contact. All relevant information, as well as scientific works (articles, manuscripts, lecture notes, and books) belong-ing to these researchers regardbelong-ing Histology and Embryology through 2000, were considered while evaluating the data.
Results and Discussion
No lecture notes related to Histology and Embryology were included in the curriculum established by Godlewsky, who ini-tiated scientific veterinary medical education in Turkey, 1842. The bibliography of the history of veterinary medicine contains documents that indicate that histology and embryology were taught to third-year students as a separate course for the first time in 1895 at the Military Veterinary Faculty under the top-ic “İlm-i Ensac” (tissue science/histology). No information was found concerning how, by whom, in which circumstances, and in which semesters the course was given before the above date. Histology and embryology courses were taught by Osman Nuri (Eralp) at the Civilian Veterinary Faculty and the Military Veteri-nary Faculty between 1908 and 1921, and in 1911, 1914 and in 1920 (Erk, 1973; Erk and Dinçer 1970). The course required 64 hours of instruction that included both theoretical and practi-cal (“Ameli ve Nazari”) lessons. The course was included in the curriculum of the second-year students at the Civilian Veteri-nary Faculty between 1889 and 1908.
After 1913, the course was given by Ahmet Şevki (Akçay) in the Military Veterinary Faculty. Ahmet Şevki (Akçay) continued the lectures after the merging of the military and civilian veterinary faculties in 1921 (Erk, 1973; Erk and Dinçer, 1970).
The Higher Veterinary Faculty in the Selimiye district was shut down and moved to the Veterinary Faculty incorporated into the Higher Institute of Agriculture in 1933 in Ankara. A newly named division “The Institute of Dissection, Histology, and Embryolo-gy” was founded in this institute. Through this institution-based structuring, the Histology and Embryology Division was as-signed to the same unit as the Anatomy division. Histology-Em-bryology was taught initially by Prof. Dr. Hans Richter and then by Prof. Dr. Mahmut Şemsi Kural to the second-year students in the third and fourth semesters (Erk, 1973; Erk and Dinçer, 1970). The name of the faculty was changed to the Higher Institute of Agriculture Veterinary Faculty in 1937 and the program of study was increased to 5 years, beginning in the 1939-40
aca-demic year. The histology-embryology course was given in the same semesters in the rearranged curriculum. In 1948, the vet-erinary faculty was incorporated into the newly founded Anka-ra University and former small institutions were converted to departments in 1952. A separate department of “Histology and Embryology” was established for the first time in the same year. Despite the changes in the curriculum, the histology-embryol-ogy course remained intact (Erk, 1973; Erk and Dinçer, 1970). Histology and embryology courses were taught by Prof. Dr. Mahmut Şemsi Kural, Assoc. Prof. Zihni Erençin and research assistant Osman Hassa in the early years and then by several trained scholars that graduated from the veterinary faculty at Ankara University and from other faculties (Erk, 1973; Erk and Dinçer, 1970).
The second veterinary faculty was founded in Elazığ in 1970 as in association with Ankara University and the histology-embry-ology course was taught using the curriculum of the Univer-sity. In 1972 and 1978 new veterinary faculties were founded in Istanbul and Bursa, respectively. Histology and embryology were taught in the first semester of the second academic year in three theoretical and two practical lessons and in the second semester of the same year in two theoretical and two practical lessons per week.
After the recognition of the “Higher Education Law” (under law no. 2547)1, a histology-embryology course of 126 hours includ-ing 70 theoretical and 56 practical classes was included among mandatory courses in all faculties of veterinary medicine. The “Inter-University Board Veterinary Science Educational Council” was founded in 1989 and annual study hours of mandatory and elective courses for veterinary medical education were select-ed. Council determined that the histology course was to be giv-en in the second year as a 126-hour course with an additional 14 hours of lecture in embryology.
The disciplines of histology and embryology within the De-partment of Morphology in those years were reorganized as the Department of Histology and Embryology under a superior unit termed “The Division of Veterinary Medicine Basic Scienc-es” in all 16 faculties which had been founded through 2000. This reorganization began with the faculty of veterinary medi-cine at Ankara University. In the 1990s, this discipline existed as two separate divisions of Histology and Embryology at certain faculties. Since 2000, undergraduate students have taken a his-tology course in the second year with two or three theoretical and two practical lessons per week. An embryology course was taught in the first academic year, and then later abolished at several faculties. Embryology was taught solely theoretically in certain faculties while others offered the course of one or two classes per week that included both theoretical and practical instruction.
1 Higher Education Law. Number: 2547, Accepted date: 6/11/1981
The first written work on histology and embryology was a text-book entitled “İlm-i Ensac Dersleri” (Histology/Tissue Science Lessons). The first edition was published in 1914 and the sec-ond in 1918 in Istanbul. This 395-page textbook was written by a doctor of veterinary medicine, commander, bacteriologist, and chemist Osman Nuri (Eralp). The textbook included cell structure as its first topic. It presented 155 figures covering tis-sues (general histology), organs (special histology) and embry-ology. Other topics such as tissue staining techniques, blood tissue, preparation of blood smears, and blood cell count were also included. Some of the figures were cited from “Sobotta” and the whole textbook encompassed 211 subtopics. Embry-ology was covered in only five pages, and no list of references was provided (Edhem, 1918).
Despite his long-term lecturing on histology and embryology at the Higher Veterinary Faculty, Ahmet Şevki (Akçay) did not conduct research in this field. However, he did write an X+142 page instructive textbook entitled “Hastalıklı Örü (Doku) Bil- gisinde Köksel Teknikler” (Radicular Techniques in The Ailing Lat-tice/Tissue), describing common techniques used in both histol-ogy and patholhistol-ogy laboratories, that was published in 1936. When the Institute of Anatomy at the Higher Institute of Ag-riculture began teaching its histology-embryology course, a VII+58-page textbook, published in 1937, entitled “Compara-tive Histology of Domestic Animals” was written by the direc-tor of the institute, Anatomist Prof. Dr. Hans Richter and then translated to Turkish by the chief of the institute, Mahmut Şem-si Kural. An additional 205-page textbook, “Histology and Mi-croscopic Anatomy of Pet Animals Part 2- MiMi-croscopic Anatomy of the Organs” was published by these authors in the 1938-39 academic year. An interpretation adopted from the book of Ellenberger-Baum, “Comparative Embryology of Pet Animals” was also among their collective works. This 46-page textbook, published in 1940 in Ankara, contained no figures or illustra-tions. Finally, Mahmut Şemsi Kural wrote another VI+323-page textbook entitled “Comparative Systemic Anatomy and Histol-ogy of Domestic Animals”, published in 1963.
Zihni Erençin completed his dissertation, “The Distribution of Camel Forestomach (Proventriculus) into Its Compartments by Histological Evaluations and The Morphological Aspects of These Compartments” in 1944. This dissertation was converted to a book and published in 1949. His thesis for associate pro-fessorship, “Determination of The Anatomic Features of Hemal Lymph Nodes and Their location Sites (Histologically) within The Hematopoietic System in Miscellaneous Ruminants” was published in 1955 as a 65-page book. Zihni Erençin also pub-lished two textbooks, “General Histology” (X+289 pages) and “Special Histology” (XII+352 pages) in 1958 and 1963, respec-tively.
Osman Hassa’s doctoral thesis, approved in 1954, was pub-lished in 1955 as a 55-page book, “Ontogenetic Investigations on The Bursa of Fabricius of Chickens (native) Ranking Among Domestic Poultry and The Hematopoietic Features of This Or-gan”. His thesis for associate professorship, “Histological Investi-gations on The Alimentary System of Chickens” was a 68-page book published in 1961. The first edition of his V+95-page text-book, “A Practical Guide to Special Histology” was launched in 1963. The textbook, “Embryology” (1972, first edition), was also among his works. The third and the last edition of the book, a collective work with Reşat Nuri Aştı as co-author, was published in 1997. The last edition of “A Practical Guide to Special Histolo-gy” was published in 1972 (Hassa, 2000).
Having completed his doctoral thesis, Osman Hassa was sent to the Netherlands by the Turkish government to work at the Hubert Experimental Embryology Laboratory in Utrecht. Sub-sequently, he went to the United States to continue his studies at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine, St Paul, MN. There, he practiced Malory-Crossman’s “Triple Staining Method” and introduced this method in Turkey (Hassa, 2000).
Mahmut Sağlam’s 34-page dissertation entitled “Histological Investigations on The Nasal Cavity of Chickens” was published in 1960. His thesis for associate professorship, “Histological and Quantitative Investigations on The Muscle Fibers of The Cervi-cal Muscles, M. biventer cervis, M. rectus capitis dorsalis and M. rectus capitis lateralis in Woodpecker” was a 77-page book pub-lished in 1968. In 1957, Mahmut Sağlam traveled to the United States to learn electron microscopy at the University of Minne-sota Medical Faculty Research Center. Afterward, he worked at Justus Liebig University in Germany where he helped establish its electron microscope laboratory and led efforts to procure an ultramicrotome. After he returned home, he used a budget of 230,000 Turkish Liras to establish an electron microscope laboratory at Ankara University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 1968. An electron microscope (Carl-Zeiss, EM 9S-2) was pur-chased for the laboratory for 886,000 Turkish Liras with an addi-tional contribution from Mahmut Sağlam (Sağlam, 2000). The first electron microscope (AEG-Zeiss EM 8) in Turkey was purchased for the Pendik Institute of Bacteriological Research on February 1, 1953. The device was introduced to the staff by Selahattin Gürtürk. This microscope was transferred to Ankara University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Bac-teriology and Epidemics on the 10th of May in 1956. However, it was not used for research related to histology and embryology. In addition, an electron microscope (AEI, EM 6 B-1967) was do-nated to the Istanbul University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Histology and Embryology in 1990 by the Istan-bul University Faculty of Medicine. However; the microscope was an outdated model, which, along with the lack of techni-cal equipment, led to its being scrapped in the following years (Sağlam, 2000). It was never used to support research.
When Mahmut Sağlam was in the United States, he developed a keen interest in photography and contributed to the founda-tion of a photography studio at his institufounda-tion. He later pursued his photographic work in Turkey and penned a 69-page book, “Microscopy and Microphotography” (1968). His 94-page text-book, “A Practical Guide to General Histology”, was published twice in 1969 and 1971. He also wrote the chapter, “The Cell” (1958) in the second edition (1971) of “General Histology”, ini-tially published by Zihni Erençin. The 3rd and the 4th editions of the book were entirely Mahmut Sağlam’s work. Aytekin Özer and Reşat Nuri Aştı cooperated with him in the fifth edition (1997) of the same now 310-page book.
Attila Tanyolaç’s 40-page dissertation, “Investigations on the Percentage Values of Anucleated Erythrocytes Particularly Re-ticulocytes in The Peripheral Blood Smears of Ankara Goats Regarding Season, Age, and Gender-based Parameters and the Morphology of Agranulocytes” was published in 1967. Tanyolaç attended the Free University of Berlin Veterinary Faculty be-tween 1966-68 and studied histochemistry. “Histology Lecture Notes” (1979) was published by the Istanbul University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Press comprised 82 pages on topics of general and special histology. The textbook “Special Histology” by Attila Tanyolaç, 141 pages, was first published in 1984. The second and the third editions of the same book were published in 1993 and 1999, respectively. The book had increased to 231 pages (Tanyolaç, 2000).
The doctoral thesis of Aydın Evren, “Balastogenetic Investiga-tions on The Snail, Indoplanorbis exustus (Deshayes)”, was a 22-page book published in 1969.
Mustafa Ercan Artan’s 77-page dissertation, “Investigations on Gross and Macromorphology of the Genital System in Greyhen (Alectoris gracea M.)” was published in 1975. Artan’s XXIV+458-page book “Histology” was compiled from his sep-arately published lecture notes (1981-82 and 1983 academic years), and published in 1988 by the Istanbul University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Press. He penned “A Practical Guide to Histology” (1984), a IIX+43-page book with three co-authors, Suzan Dağlıoğlu, Serdal Uğurlu, and Hüsniye Sunaçoğlu. An annual edition of this guide textbook has been subsequently published.
Five articles were identified attributed to Haluk Arvas.
Ali Otlu’s IV+86-page textbook, “Veterinary Histology I/General Histology Lecture Notes” (1983) and his III+74-page textbook, “Veterinary Histology II/Special Histology Lecture Notes” (1983) were published by the Fırat University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Press. In addition to these textbooks, he co-authored a practical guidebook, “Manual of Veterinary Haematology” (1989, 120 pages), with Kemal Yılmaz. After he transferred to İnönü University Faculty of Medicine, his six-volume text, “His-tology and Embryology Lecture Notes” was published between 1993-97 by the university’s press.
Reşat Nuri Aştı authored “General Histology” (1997) with Mah-mut Sağlam and Aytekin Özer and “Embryology” (1997) with Osman Hassa. His two textbooks, “A Practical Guide to Gener-al Histology” and “A PracticGener-al Guide to SpeciGener-al Histology”, were published in 1991.
“Veterinary Embryology” (1996) was written by Aytekin Özer, Mine Yakışık, and Nesrin Özfiliz as a IV+64-page textbook. The fifth comprehensive edition of “General Histology” (1997) was written by Aytekin Özer with co-authors, Mahmut Sağlam and Reşat Nuri Aştı. Özer, in collaboration with Mine Yakışık, Nesrin Özfiliz, and Hatice Erdost, submitted his 102-page work, “Histol-ogy Guideline” in 1997 (Uludağ University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Publications).
By 2000, 16, 37, 18, and 17 articles in veterinary histology and embryology had been published, authored by Aydın Girgin, En-ver Ozan, Ziya Özcan, and Belma Alabay, respectively.
Serdal Uğurlu contributed to the textbook, “A Practical Guide to Histology” (1983) with co-authors, M. Ercan Artan et al. Uğurlu also produced a 76-page textbook, “The Microscope and The Microscopy Techniques” (1996). Serdal Uğurlu also published 8 articles.
Mine Yakışık penned the textbook, “Veterinary Embryology” (1996), with the co-authors, Aytekin Özer and Nesrin Özfiliz. “His-tology Manual” (1997) was a collaborative work of Yakışık, with Aytekin Özer et al. Yakışık published 2 books and 15 articles. A 132 -page textbook “A Practical Guide to General Histology Microscopic Studies” (1996) and a 131-page textbook entitled “A Practical Guide to Special Histology Microscopic Studies” (1996) were among the works of İlhami Çelik. These books were written in collaboration with scholars from Selçuk University Faculty of Medicine.
Güner Bayram published 8 articles. Hüsniye Doğruman con-tributed to “A Practical Guide to Histology” (1983), co-authored with M. Ercan Artan et al. and published 20 articles.
Ülker Eren, Nevin Kurtdede, and Narin Liman published 11, 21, and 11 articles, respectively. Nesrin Özfiliz participated in the writing of “Veterinary Embryology” (1996), along with Aytekin Özer and Mine Yakışık. She also contributed “Histology Manual” (1997) with Aytekin Özer et al. She also published 14 articles. Altan Armutak, Mehmet Kanter, Hikmet Altunay, Hasan Hakan Bozkurt, and İhsan Çörekci published 14, 17, 10, 14, and 9 arti-cles, respectively.
Hatice Erdost contributed to “Histology Manual” (1997), a col-laborative work of Aytekin Özer et al. She also six published six articles.
Fifteen, 10, 8, 6, 8, 18, 13, 4, and 3 articles published regarding histology and embryology were authored by Umay Banıçiçek
Fırat, Nurhayat Gülmez, Mecit Yörük, Berrin Tarakçı, Şahin Aslan, Muzaffer Aydın Ketani, Hasan Hüseyin Dönmez, Mümtaz Nazlı, and Emel Ergün, respectively.
Further, Ahmet Mısırlıoğlu, Ahmet Arslan, Asuman Özen, Mus-tafa Sandıkçı, Berrin Zık, Aynur Berkun, Berna Güney Saruhan, and Ahmet Koç completed doctoral dissertations in veterinary histology and embryology in Turkey prior to 2000 and these scholars pursued academic careers under the title of Ph.D. Overall, 34 books and 236 articles were written in Turkish, and 52 domestic presentations were identified. Forty-seven articles were written in foreign languages (41 in English and 6 in Ger-man) and a total of 20 papers, 19 in English and one in French, were presented in Turkey through 2000. These data were sum-marized considering the first author of each work. No book written in a foreign language was identified.
In conclusion, the numbers of books, articles, and presenta-tions located were 43, 283, and 72, respectively. A total of 445 articles, 132 presentations, and 34 books were recorded in the 158-year history of veterinary histology and embryology in Tur-key between 1842 and 2000.
The director, Hans Richter, who led the Institute of Anatomy, Histology, and Embryology at the faculty that moved in 1933 from Istanbul to Ankara and was restructured into the Higher Institute of Agriculture, gave lectures and produced three sep-arate published works on histology and embryology, despite his academic background in anatomy. In the following years, one scholar at the same institute, M. Şemsi Kural, left his posi-tion in Anatomy and focused entirely on histology and embry-ology. He also initiated research and practice in this area. Zihni Erençin, another scholar at the institute completed his disserta-tion in 1944 and became the first Turkish citizen to have earned a Ph.D. in histology and embryology.
The institution-based structuring of the veterinary faculty was changed in 1952 by converting disciplines into departments. At this time, Prof. Dr. Şemsi Kural, Assoc. Prof. Zihni Erençin and the research assistant Osman Hassa became the first scholars of the newly founded “Department of Histology and Embryol-ogy”. The same academic staff played a significant role in the establishment of new faculties of veterinary medicine in Elazığ, Istanbul, and Bursa in 1970, 1972, and 1978, respectively. Most research assistants who started their Ph.D. training completed the task at Ankara, University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine under the supervision of these scholars.
Postgraduate training in veterinary medicine in Turkey was ini-tiated in 1940 in the Ministry of Agriculture-affiliated institutes; however, training in histology and embryology was not offered. Credit-based postgraduate education started in Turkey for the first time under “Animal Husbandry and Vocational Faculty of Residency of Health Sciences” founded under the directorship of the Ankara University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.
His-tology and embryology were offered as postgraduate training programs. Postgraduate training in Turkey was thereafter orga-nized in accordance with this program until the Higher Educa-tion Law came into effect in 1982. After the approval of consti-tutional article number 2547 by the Higher Education Institute in 1982, the faculty for postgraduate training was closed. Since then, postgraduate training in the field of veterinary medicine has been implemented under the Institutes of Health Sciences at the universities. A total of 48 dissertations were completed in veterinary histology-embryology and 68 academic scholars earned faculty positions (26 assistant professorships, 28 associ-ate professorships, and 14 professorships) between 1944 and 1999. Four researchers did their doctorates abroad. Two schol-ars who completed their doctorate programs between the above dates resigned.
In all, by 1999, a total of 32 scholars including 6 Ph.D. recipients, 8 assistant professors, 12 associate professors, and 6 professors were working in departments of histology and embryology at different universities.
When the microscope was introduced into veterinary medical science in Turkey is still a controversial issue. Some investiga-tors have suggested the first half of the 19th century. Available information centers on the use of the instrument in medical sci-ences and no study is available concerning the introduction of the microscope into the veterinary medical science. Regardless of the precise date, the microscope is likely to have been used for the first time in other disciplines, such as veterinary microbi-ology, parasitmicrobi-ology, and pathology rather than histology. In Turkey, histology and embryology courses were taught to third-year students in the Military Veterinary Faculty for the first time in 1895 under the topic “İlm-i Ensac”. The 2nd Constitutional Monarchy declared in 1908 during the era of the Ottoman Em-pire, was a turning point in the history of domestic veterinary medical education in histology and embryology. “İlm-i Ensac” courses were taught both theoretically and practically after this time. Previously, curricula included only theoretical lectures. Suphi Edhem indicated in his book, “Nevsal-i Baytari”, that ap-proximately seven electric drying ovens and several high-qual-ity microscopes with the latest technology for the time were available at the Military Bacteriology Laboratory of the Military Veterinary Faculty. This equipment made a considerable contri-bution to the quality of education. Some of these microscopes were likely utilized for “İlm-i Ensac” courses as well as for cours-es in other disciplincours-es. Suphi Edhem mentioned in his work that the six laboratories of the Military Veterinary Faculty, with the smallest being 5x7 meters, were built based on the laboratories of the Military Medical Faculty. He also included a photograph of the “İlm-i Ensac Laboratory”. It is clear from the photograph that the laboratory possessed the latest technology for its time. The histology and embryology courses which were given to the 3rd year students in the Military Veterinary Faculty only as
the-oretical lectures began to involve practice as well after 1908. Both in the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic periods through 2000, these subjects were taught to 2nd year students in every faculty of veterinary medicine. For a short period, em-bryology was taught in the 1st academic year but due to incon-venience and inefficiency, the course was subsequently taught to 2nd year students. The embryology course consisted mostly of theoretical lessons. The practice was limited or even absent in some faculties. These limitations saliently affected the quali-ty of veterinary medical education in Turkey.
Animal breeding-based agricultural and economic aspects of veterinary medicine for issues of animal improvement, ge-netics, zootechnics, reproduction, and artificial insemination require a thorough knowledge of embryology. The non-trivial contributions of a practical approach, along with basic theo-retical knowledge, may justify the establishment of a separate department of embryology with its own academic staff. In-creasing interest in the latest technical advancements, such as embryo transfer, in vitro fertilization (test-tube baby), cloning, and other genetic studies, have led to increased budgets for these applications, and provide additional support for this con-cept. Since research on embryo transfer and cloning are multi-disciplinary, an embryological approach to the clinical sciences may be more fruitful than an approach using basic medical sciences. Unfortunately, the position of embryology within the department of histology likely biased training toward this dis-cipline, and scholars training in this atmosphere tended to pur-sue research in histology. This bias hampered the development of embryology in veterinary medical science in Turkey.
Through 2000, four scholars studying in the field of histology and embryology earned doctorates abroad. Further, the num-ber of published scientific papers is directly proportional to the increase in the number of scholars. Most articles focusing on topics such as the alimentary system, integumentary system, and genital system were published in foreign languages. How-ever, few studies on embryology were conducted and the num-ber of published articles in this area is insufficient. No histol-ogy-embryology oriented glossary or spelling dictionary was identified through 2000.
The initial establishment of a separate Department of Histolo-gy and EmbryoloHistolo-gy at Ankara University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 1952 under the professorship of M. Şemsi Kural was the turning point in the history of histology and embryology. Prof. Dr. M. Şemsi Kural, Assoc. Prof. Zihni Erençin and the re-search assistant Osman Hassa were the core academic staff of this new faculty.
The first textbook on veterinary histology and embryology, “İlm-i Ensac Dersleri” (1914, 1st edition) was written by Osman Nuri (Eralp) and published in Istanbul. The book was approxi-mately 400 pages long. Embryology was, however, covered in only five pages.
“İlm-i Ensac Dersleri” was written in Ottoman Turkish and com-prised topics ranging from cells to tissues, from tissues to or-gans, and from organs to systems. The text was comprehensive at the level of light microscopy and was accompanied by useful figures. This organization is compatible with narrative method-ology used in current histmethod-ology books. The text is considered a translation since the author was a bacteriologist with no ac-ademic work in histology and embryology. Nevertheless, the first book on histology and embryology was published in 1851 in Germany, which suggests a more than a 60-year delay in the transfer of information from west to east.
In 1937, the textbook, “Comparative Histology of Domestic An-imals” by Prof. Dr. Hans Richter, and translated to Turkish by Dr. M. Şemsi Kural, was published 23 years after the publication of “İlm-i Ensac Dersleri”. His work was the first histology textbook of Turkish veterinary medical science written in the Latin alpha-bet. This achievement was followed by “Histology and Micro-scopic Anatomy of Pet Animals Part 2- MicroMicro-scopic Anatomy of the Organs” (1939) and “Comparative Anatomy of Pet Animals” (1940). Both textbooks were the collaborative work of Prof. Dr. Hans Richter and Assoc. Prof. M. Şemsi Kural. Later, a book compiled from “Handbuch der Vergleichhenden Anatomie der Haustiere” by Ellenberger-Baum and “Lehrbuch der Entwick-lungsgeschichte der Haustiere” by Zietschmann was the first embryology textbook of Turkish veterinary science written in the Latin alphabet.
Prof. Dr. Hans Richter contributed substantially to the develop-ment of histology and embryology in Turkey. In addition, Mahmut Şemsi Kural’s collaboration with Prof. Dr. Hans Richter in publishing these textbooks and his facilitation of the training of Zihni Erençin, who is considered the pioneer of contemporary veterinary histol-ogy and embryolhistol-ogy education in Turkey, are noteworthy. The first reference and textbooks on veterinary histology and embryology produced in Turkey were interpretations of then-existing knowledge. It seems likely that this lack of
orig-inal work reflects the historical lack of trained specialists due to the domineering and shadowing impact of anatomy on histol-ogy and embryolhistol-ogy. This focus on translations persisted until Zihni Erençin presented the first dissertation in this area. Later scholars continued to conduct and publish original research. The first textbook on histology and embryology was published in 1937. No published work was uncovered between the years 1928 and 1937. During this interval, it is likely that knowledge was verbally transferred to students via lectures.
Zihni Erençin was the first Turkish scholar to complete his Ph.D. in the area of veterinary histology. The original textbooks he subsequently authored, including “General Histology” and “Special Histology”, are still considered benchmarks among works in Turkish veterinary histology. Zihni Erençin’s research on hemal lymph nodes was significant. This work is the basis of his title as the founder of modern histology in Turkish veteri-nary medicine (Figure 1).
Osman Hassa was the first research scholar to have complet-ed a Ph.D. program in embryology. He introduccomplet-ed, developcomplet-ed and generalized the “Triple Staining Method” in Turkey after his stints in the Netherlands and the USA. He wrote the first original embryology textbook (“Embryology”, 1972) in Turkish veterinary science. Prof. Dr. Osman Hassa is recognized as the founder of Veterinary Embryology in Turkey (Figure 1).
Mahmut Sağlam initiated electron microscope studies in his-tology and embryology to Turkish veterinary medicine after he returned home from his studies in the USA. His contributions included several research studies, his efforts to obtain an elec-tron microscope for the Ankara University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, and his training of many veterinary students. His work, “The Microscope and Microphotography” was a corner-stone for Turkish science. He also authored “General Histology” and “A Practical Guide to General Histology”. Prof. Dr. Mahmut Sağlam founded both electron microscope practice and micro-photography for veterinary histology and embryology in Tur-key. He was also a founding member of the Turkish Histology and Embryology Society and served as president of the associ-ation for two terms (Figure 1).
These four scholars, Prof. Dr. Mahmut Şemsi Kural, Prof. Dr. Zihni Erençin, Prof. Dr. Osman Hassa, and Prof. Dr. Mahmut Sağlam, were the pioneers of modern histology and embryology in Tur-key.
Conclusion
In this study, advances veterinary histology and embryology in Turkey from their beginnings to 2000 were evaluated based on veterinary medical education, scientific research and published papers, and postgraduate training. Findings were assessed within the frameworks of science and veterinary medical sci-ence history.
Figure 1. The Founders of Modern Histology and Embryology in Turkish Veterinary Medicine. These pictures were taken from the Ankara University Faculty of Veterinary Medicine web page
After veterinary education commenced which was initiated in 1842 in Turkey, histology and embryology courses were first in-cluded in the curriculum in 1895 at the Military Veterinary Fac-ulty under the topic “İlm-i Ensac”. After the foundation of the Higher Institute of Agriculture in 1933, the division of histology and embryology functioned within the same institutional unit as anatomy. These disciplines were first separated into inde-pendent departments in 1952.
The first Turkish textbook in this area, “İlm-i Ensac Dersleri”, was published in 1914 and 1918 under the name of Osman Nuri (Eralp). Despite their academic backgrounds in anatomy, Hans Richter and Mahmut Şemsi Kural published the first trans-lations of histology and embryology textbooks written in the Latin alphabet. Zihni Erençin was the first scholar to receive a Ph.D. (1944) in veterinary histology and is recognized as the founder of the modern histology in Turkey. Likewise, Osman Hassa was the first scholar to have received a Ph.D. in veterinary embryology (1954) and is referred to as the founder of Veteri-nary Embryology in Turkey. Mahmut Sağlam initiated electron microscope and microphotography studies in these disciplines. These academics were the pioneering core of modern veteri-nary medical education in histology and embryology through their substantial contributions to education, scientific research, and training of the next generation of scholars. Advances in the area of veterinary histology and embryology, from the open-ing of the first independent department in 1952 through 2000, demonstrate innovative steps taken in Turkey to pursue con-temporary science in Turkey.
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Peer-review: Externally peer-reviewed.
Conflict of Interest: The author have no conflicts of interest to declare. Financial Disclosure: The author declared that this study has received
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