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How did Ross G. Harrison grow frog nerve cell processes in culture?

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In 1907, American zoologist Ross Granville Harrison pioneered the first successful animal-tissue culture by cultivating tadpole tissue in a laboratory setting.

By placing the embryonic tissue in a culture medium, he observed that nerve fibers grew directly from the cells. This experiment allowed him to witness the protoplasmic movement of nerve-cell outgrowths, which provided definitive evidence regarding the formation and nature of nerve fibers. This breakthrough settled a long-standing scientific controversy and established the foundation for modern nerve physiology and neurology.1