Which scientist coined the term “neuron” in 1891?

Wilhelm von Waldeyer-Hartz coined the term “neuron” in 1891. He used the word to describe the individual nerve cells that make up the nervous system.

Waldeyer was a German anatomist who synthesized evidence from microscopic research by several scientists. His terminology helped provide a common name for the cellular units later emphasized by the neuron doctrine. He also coined the term chromosome in 1888, before introducing neuron.

The neuron doctrine holds that the nervous system is composed of separate cells rather than one continuous network. Santiago Ramón y Cajal’s detailed drawings and interpretations strongly supported this view, while Camillo Golgi’s staining method made many of the relevant structures visible. Golgi favored a reticular, or network, interpretation, and both scientists shared the 1906 Nobel Prize.

Thus, naming the neuron and proving the doctrine were related but distinct historical achievements.